Dentist said he'd report me

In this case it seems like the dentist wanted to bump an NHS patient with additional needs off his waiting list.

It is literally in the GDC's own standards for obtaining valid consent

https://standards.gdc-uk.org/pages/principle3/principle3

It was ridiculous question and you should complain and do what you can to insist on treatment now.

if I as an adult with no additional needs was asked ‘would you like a filling?’ at my next appointment the truthful answer would be no. Obviously I’ll say ‘ooh I’d love one yes’ because i understand what the intended meaning of the question is. But to ask that of any child, let alone one with SEN is really poor and lacking understanding of accessibility needs etc.
in fact is be throwing that into the complaint.

The dentist isn't a mind reader.

Then maybe he should ask the question he actually wants the answer to?

Rather than trying to read minds.

@user1471538275 It is being used wrongly in this situation and many many others. It seems to be just easier for HCPs to ignore the parents and manipulate relatively young people.

For what purpose ?

I am convinced orthodontist are minions of the devil, why are they so mean and rude?? If you hate people on NHS don't take them. I am sorry you had to deal with it. They took DS braces last weekend and without exaggeration it was the best day of this year for me. BAD BAD people (I am aware I am generalising and I am wrong, I don't care).

My son was asked exactly the same question by the Orthodontist and replied 'Well not really', and my son isn't SEN. I said to the Orthodontist, 'No child wants braces'. I think this is a standard question that's asked. My friend's daughter was asked the question by the same Orthodontist as my son. Thankfully, the Orthodontist wasn't stupid enough to take the answer as a refusal for treatment. Clearly your son's Orthodontist has done exactly that.

I wasn't present in the surgery so I can't comment.

However, respect for young people’s views is important. If a young person refuses treatment, those involved must carefully weigh up the harm it would cause to their rights by overriding their refusal, against the benefits of treatment.

All decisions must be made in the best interests of the child or young person.
These are often complex situations requiring a multi-disciplinary approach - including involving child protection services in some cases.

The law on parents overriding young people’s competent refusal is complex and varies around the UK

Gillick competency is a far more comprehensive conversation than 'do you want braces?'

It is not specific to age - different children will have different capacity to consent or refuse dependent on many factors.

It also has to be related to the complexity of the procedure and it's likely consequences - anything with signicant side effects need to be explored as to whether they fully understand the choice they are making.

It is being used wrongly in this situation and many many others. It seems to be just easier for HCPs to ignore the parents and manipulate relatively young people.

All health professionals including dentists have to complete mandatory Oliver McGowan training. Oliver was a young autistic man who died because of a lack of understanding about SEND and autism among the health care professionals treating him. The dentist asked the wrong question and got a literal answer. The dentist did not facilitate an informed choice. Most people do not want braces but understand they need them. Ask the practice if the dentist has completed their training and inform the CQC if they haven’t (as well as complaining).

Only if you fail to explore what the child is responding too. If someone said to me would you like surgery I’d say no. If they said you need this treatment to get better, not to have x issues, does that sound like a good idea? I’d say yes. Children have capacity of course but they also need good communication as do all patients. The question asked was a closed not open question as the child’s mother, his advocate, OP tried to share

The rule is also that the healthcare professional seeking informed consent also has to adjust their communication style to suit the patient's needs, not expect the patient to adjust to theirs.

"He also was not refusing treatment he was expressing his dislike at the idea of having braces. He was fully prepared to have them."

The dentist isn't a mind reader. He asked your son if he wanted braces and the answer was "No".

The rule is that the practitioner has to have "informed consent" Had he gone ahead and fitted them when your son had said "No" it could be grounds for a claim of assault.

The dentist was erring on the side of caution.

You need to go to pediatric hospital dentistry , they are usually trained and have seen it all, especially kids with SEN

I think that 'he isn't' is in reply to the suggestion that your dentist is following the correct consent protocol, @Shmee1988.

Surely there are barely any children who are enthusiastic about having braces, or who actively don’t want them but need them medically. What child or adult really wants to have any dental work done? I’d definitely complain, it sounds like this guy is trying to shorten his own waiting list if he’s asking everyone whether they’d like to have invasive work done

Was he using the refusal as a way to reduce his list? The rates paid for NHS dentistry are shockingly low.

My dentist reported us to social services once.... took my daughter in with a bad tooth, they said it needs to come out as a matter of urgency we will send you an appointment.... 18 months later I miss the appointment as they sent the letter for it with 3 days notice and we were away on holiday for a fortnight so didn't get the letter or get to the appointment. No calls, no texts, just a letter from social services asking me to call them as they had had a referral for neglect. I was spitting feathers as you can imagine. Social services spent 30 seconds on the phone and told me they had no concerns and they wouldn't be following up the complaint!

Retired Dentist here . He isn’t