(the Sunday Times)- - UP to two-thirds of children in some areas of England are failing to get regular dental treatment as thousands of youngsters have been dropped by dentists no longer willing to provide free National Health Service care.

This weekend dentists have warned that children will find it even more difficult to get free dental care in the future as fewer dentists undertake NHS work.

As more parents have been forced to pay for their children�s treatment, dental practices and health insurers have brought out special children�s policies to cover dental charges.

Derek Watson, chief executive of the Dental Practitioners Association, said: �Primary care trusts will say that, where children have been deregistered, other dentists who want to do more NHS work will be found for these children but, in practice, there are few dentists who want to do more NHS work.�

Thousands of dentists left the NHS at the end of March because they were unhappy with the new pay deal offered by the Department of Health. At that time, thousands of children were dropped by dentists who previously offered NHS care.

Last week, a Sunday Times survey found that in Warrington only 31% of children get regular dental treatment, in Luton only 43% of under-18s got regular care.

In the West Berkshire area more than 3,500 children have been dropped from NHS lists, while in Croydon it is more than 2,100, in Bromley 2,000 and in Sheffield 1,500. Across England just 45% of adults and 64% of children get regular treatment.

A recent study found that the proportion of 11-year-olds

with tooth decay being treated has fallen by six percentage points in the past four years to only 42%, which researchers call a �disturbingly low� proportion.

Dentists believe access to the NHS will worsen because of government reforms to the way they are paid. A survey of local dental committees, carried out by the British Dental Association, showed 90% predict access to NHS dentistry will worsen.

The new system pays dentists a fixed rate for a series of treatments. Some dentists argue that the fees are too low to pay for high quality care.

NHS dentists who own their own practices earned an average of �105,300 last year, official figures show. But less than half of their gross income came from work carried out on the NHS, with 52% coming from private work.

�Children will be more likely to get good preventative treatment in the private sector such as fluoride treatment and sealing of fissures against decay because the dentists will have more time,� said Watson.

The Department of Health said: �Primary care trusts, for the first time, now have the powers to provide local dental services to meet the needs of their local populations. We are investing �400m per year more now than we were in 2003.�