A Dinas Mawddwy dad of three has raised concerns after his dental practice said it is ending free NHS care for children.

Gareth Jones contacted the Cambrian News after receiving letters from Deintyddfa Deudraeth in Penrhyndeydraeth to say free NHS care for children will end on 31 May.

Mr Jones, whose children are aged 11, 12 and 14, said he was shocked to read the letter and believes children are entitled to free NHS dental treatment.

He said: “They will still get NHS emergency care until the end of March but that’s all, no routine care or anything.

“Private Denplan cover is about £10 a month. I’m struggling as it is without this. Expenses have gone up with us all being at home in lockdown, and there will be people in worse situations than us.”

Mr Jones also believes Denplan does not cover braces. “They cost thousands,” he said, “and most families can’t afford that.”

Mr Jones said he believes there are long waiting lists for NHS patients at other local practices. “It seems we have no option but to go private,” he said.

“I think a lot of children will miss out because their parents can’t afford private care.”

Local MP Liz Saville Roberts said she was “deeply concerned” to hear that families in some areas are “finding it difficult to ensure that their children can get the dental services they need within their communities”.

She added: “Children’s dental health will suffer if families have to travel unacceptably long distances or find it difficult to make dental appointments.

“I will be contacting the health board to press for a plan to ensure that rural communities have an acceptable level of accessible NHS dental services, and to seek support for those children and people who are entitled to free dental treatment.”

The letter from Deintyddfa Deudraeth says Mr Jones’ children “should always have access to the highest standard of dental care”.

It went on: “To ensure that we can continue to offer this level of care, we have decided to offer private dentistry only from 31 May 2021. So that all our patients benefit from this change, we’ve introduced Denplan payment plans for children to help you budget for your child’s dental care.”

Following details of costs, the letter added: “We will aim to complete any courses of NHS treatment we’ve already started.”

It says Mr Jones is welcome to sign his children up to Denplan straight away, but due to the pandemic, they will continue to offer children emergency treatment free of charge until 31 March.

The Welsh Government said: “Although it is disappointing when a dentist reduces or ends their NHS commitment, when this does happen the funding for the lost service remains with the health board and is reallocated to maintain the same level of NHS provision. Anyone affected by the loss of NHS provision in Penrhyndeudraeth should contact Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board at [email protected].”