Orthodontists and children needing their specialist services will be hardest hit by the introduction of new dental contracts, health bosses have warned.

A report into the controversial new contracts and how they will affect dental care in Bradford will go before a joint trust board meeting of Airedale and North Bradford Primary Care Trusts next week - the bodies responsible for dentists.

The dental contracts come into force on April 1 and there are fears they will be unworkable and could lead to dentists leaving the NHS.

Author of the report Julie Winterbottom, acting director of commissioning for North Bradford Primary Care Trust, said: "The most significant risk to the PCT, patients and specialist dental practitioners is in the area of orthodontists.

"The entire district's practitioners reside in North and Airedale, however patients also attend from outside the district. This matter needs to be dealt with separately from general dental services. A separate paper will be provided to the board shortly outlining these risks and the proposed way forward."

Earlier this month the Telegraph & Argus highlighted the growing crisis in orthodontics in Bradford. Children needing the specialist treatment - such as braces fitting - currently face a wait of up to two-and-a-half years for treatment at St Luke's Hospital, Bradford.

Orthodontist Shandeep Sharma this month opened a new surgery in Victoria Road, Saltaire, with the aim of slashing waiting times for children needing the specialist treatment on the NHS.

However, primary care trust bosses have told Mr Sharma the new contracts leave them with no money to treat more children.

Mr Sharma, who also carries out work at St Luke's Hospital, said he was committed to the NHS and the Government should be doing more to back initiatives like his. "Thirty per cent of ten to 18-year-olds require treatment so the demand is there," he said.

Despite fears dentists may desert the NHS, all 11 dental practices in the North Bradford area have expressed an intent to sign the new contract.

Only one practice has said it wants to convert to a children-only list for new patients but this move is not being supported by the PCT and discussions are continuing. No contracts have yet been signed and it is likely that many might not be signed by April 1. However a legal term of 'In Dispute' will be used in this case to allow dentists to continue carrying out NHS work.

The report states: "If this happens in North Bradford it will simply be to ensure dentists have an NHS contract and still allow time to properly understand the document - there are no real disputes for general dental services."

The PCT believes it will take up to a year to fully understand the impact of the new dental contracts.