Health New Zealand funding for teens to get free dental treatment is short by roughly 20 to 750-dollars a treatment

The Dental Association estimates the Combined Dental Agreement's being under-funding by around 60-million-dollars a year.

The government contract funds reimbursements for private dentists when they treat adolescents for essential services through set payments.

Dental Association CEO Mo Amso says utilisation of the scheme's dropped off massively.

He says the way funding increases are determined is incompatible with the rising cost of fees.