NHS
Orthodontics have changed very radically
from April 2006.
All
dentists need to be aware of this
change because they may be "taking
the flack" from patients whose
children are denied treatment.
Orthodontists
will not expect Dentists to "filter"
out those children who will not
be eligible. All children will
be entitled to be assessed to see
if they will qualify. The sensible
thing to do is refer the children
as before, but warn the parents
that the rules for NHS Dentistry
have changed and some children
will not have severe enough problems
to qualify for treatment. If they
can be referred with an OPG
type radiograph that will be appreciated
and help speed the decision process.
Those
patients who have a malocclusion
that falls into the IOTN Groups 4
and 5 have a great need of treatment
and we can discuss and fully explain
the treatment needed to improver
their appearance. The IOTN group
3 who have an Aesthetic Index of
6 or greater also qualify. This effectively
means that if the front teeth look
unsightly they can receive treatment.
All
those children below this level in
the Index will no longer get NHS
treatment.
That
doesn't meant that they cannot have
treatment, but the treatment will
have to be by private arrangement.
We have developed a range of fees
with various payment options that
we can offer should the parents decide
that they will still want treatment.
It
is going to be an uneasy time for
both parents and dentists. Please
contact me should you have any queries.
So
what malocclusion will definitely
still get treatment?
In
general we shall still be able to
accept:-
- Hypodontia
problems with prosthetic
replacement implications.
- Impacted,
partially erupted and ectopic
teeth.
- Overjets
of more than 6mm.
- Large
reverse overjets.
- Severe
and moderately severely crowded
arches.
- Supernumary
teeth
- Traumatic
bites
- Large
posterior cross-bites with
significant jaw displacements on
closure.
I
hope to be able to allocate some
space each day in the appointment
book so that these patients can
be seen quickly and efficiently.
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