The National Health Service (General Dental Services Contracts) Regulations 2005

Patients to whom orthodontic services may be provided

4.—(1) A contract that includes the provision of orthodontic services shall specify that orthodontic services may be provided to—

(a) only persons who are under the age of 18 years at the time of the case assessment;

(b) only persons who have attained or are over the age of 18 years at the time of the case assessment; or

(c) persons falling within paragraph (a) or (b).

(2) Where a contract specifies the matters referred to in sub-paragraph (1)(b) or (1)(c), it shall in addition specify the circumstances in which orthodontic services may be provided to a person over the age of 18 years at the time of a case assessment.

(3) The contractor shall only provide orthodontic treatment to a person who is assessed by the contractor following a case assessment as having a treatment need in—

(a) grade 4 or 5 of the Dental Health Component of the Index of Orthodontic Treatment Need(1); or

(b) grade 3 of the Dental Health Component of that Index with an Aesthetic Component of 6 or above,

unless the contractor is of the opinion, and has reasonable grounds for its opinion, that orthodontic treatment should be provided to a person who does not have such a treatment need by virtue of the exceptional circumstances of the dental and oral condition of the person concerned.

(4) In a case where a person does not have a treatment need but the contractor has reasonable grounds for its opinion that orthodontic treatment should be provided to that person because of the exceptional circumstances of the dental and oral condition of that person, such treatment as is referred to in sub-paragraph (3) may be provided.

(1)

The Development of an Index for Orthodontic Treatment Priority: European Journal of Orthodontics 11, p309-332, 1989 Brooke PH and Shaw WC. The article is available at www.dh.gov.uk.