Dental Services: Side Effects

(asked on 16th July 2026) - View Source

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to provide acknowledgement and redress to people who had faces damaged and developed serious side effects after retraction-extraction orthodontics during childhood.


Answered by
James Frith Portrait
James Frith
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
This question was answered on 7th September 2026

The Department is unable to intervene in or comment on individual cases. However, information for patients who have concerns or complaints about the treatments they have received on how to raise those issues with the relevant bodies is available at the following links:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/contact-us/feedback-and-complaints/complaint/

https://www.gdc-uk.org/raising-concerns/how-to-get-a-refund-or-make-a-complaint

According to orthodontic experts, dental extractions are undertaken to provide space when it is felt that attempting to correct a malocclusion would lead to harm. This is either to address crowding or correct anteroposterior, lateral, or vertical mal-relationships of the teeth or jaws. A recent systematic review published in the European Journal of Orthodontics suggests that extraction of premolars in orthodontic treatment does not negatively affect upper airway volume and minimum cross-sectional area. The review is available at the following link:

https://academic.oup.com/ejo/article/47/2/cjaf012/8068404

Reticulating Splines