Last updated 19:38, Thursday, 24 April 2008

THEIR dental treatment may be excellent but hundreds of children in north Cumbria are in no mood to show off their smiles.

A great deal of expense and disruption for them and their families is making all concerned feel somewhat down in the mouth.

A waiting list for orthodontic work of 1,000 people, mainly teenagers, should never have been allowed to reach such a length. The solution has cut the backlog, but at great inconvenience to many patients.

New treatment centres have now opened in Penrith and Cockermouth. Unfortunately this has coincided with the end of routine treatment in Carlisle.

Children in the city who need braces and other corrective work now face 40-mile round trips to Penrith. Zena Watson from Carlisle faces making this journey with two of her children, with no guarantee that they can be seen on the same day.

Parents such as Zena wonder why Cumbria’s only city does not have an orthodontist. It is a question which the county’s health authorities must address, and the sooner the better.

Teenagers who need dental work are in an uncomfortable enough position already without having what seem like unnecessary complications thrown their way.