EXPLANATORY NOTE
(This note is not part of the Regulations)
These Regulations amend the Health and Personal Social Services General Dental Services Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1993 (“the principal Regulations”) which regulate the terms on which general dental services are provided under the Health and Personal Social Services (Northern Ireland) Order 1972.
Regulation 2(2) amends the definition of “approved trainer” in the principal Regulations so that dentists working in pilot Personal Dental Services Schemes may apply to become Vocational Trainers or General Professional Trainers.
Regulation 2(3) and (4) amends the principal Regulations to reflect the introduction of new criteria for the provision of orthodontic care and treatment. Regulation 2(5) inserts regulations 20(6A) and 20(6B) which deal with when the RBSO shall make payments for the provision of orthodontic care and treatment. Regulation 2(6) amends Schedule 5 to the principal Regulations. It specifies that prior approval for orthodontic care and treatment is required when a patient is assessed as having a treatment need which is not in—
(a) grade 4 or 5 of the Dental Health Component of the Index of Orthodontic Treatment Need; or
(b) grade 3 of the Dental Health Component of the Index with an Aesthetic Component of 6 or above
but the dentist believes that the patients dental and oral condition warrant the provision of orthodontic care and treatment.