Continuing Lack Of Access To NHS Dental Treatment

The UK continues to face a huge backlog of patients waiting for NHS dental treatment.

Following worsening problems in accessing dental services, funding limitations, the Covid-19 pandemic, and growing inequalities in oral health, an NHS dental crisis has unfolded.

Dental crisis

NHS dentistry has been under pressure for many years to meet rising demand.

Latest figures show that eight in ten dental practices across England are not accepting new adult patients.

The lack of access to NHS dental care has resulted in an increase in people attending A&E due to tooth decay as patients feel they have nowhere else to turn.

In some extreme cases, people are taking matters into their own hands, resorting to DIY dentistry.

In the last two weeks, there have been multiple reports of the dental crisis. For example, BBC News reports in Bristol that hundreds of patients were pictured queuing outside a new dental practice in the hope of registering as NHS patients.

Recovery plan

The Government recently published a dental recovery plan to increase the number of appointments across the country.

Under the plans, supported by £200m of Government funding, NHS dentists will be given a ‘new patient’ payment of between £15-£50 to treat around a million new patients who have not seen an NHS dentist in two years or more.

The plan could see up to 2.5 million additional NHS dental appointments delivered for patients over the next twelve months. In addition, the NHS and Government will focus on prevention and good oral health in young children and delivering an expanded dental workforce.

To attract new NHS dentists and seek to prevent such a shift to private care, in areas with the highest demand, around 240 dentists will be offered one-off payments of up to £20,000 for working in under-served areas for up to three years.

NHS Chief Executive, Amanda Pritchard, said:

Comment

It is clearly concerning that this significant lack of access to NHS dental care will lead to minor dental issues becoming major issues. Dentists have raised concerns that some people have not seen a dentist for 10-20 years. As a result, vital check-ups are not taking place and people are losing their teeth and suffering with issues such as broken teeth, infections, and long-term abscesses, all of which are entirely preventable or manageable in early stages with prompt and proper care.

Utilising private dental treatment is not an option for everyone, as most cannot afford to do so. In this day and age, it is not acceptable that people cannot access the treatment they need.

The issues surrounding NHS dentistry needs to be seriously addressed. Major reform is required to improve the current picture of major dental crisis.