As new data shows up to 97% of new patients who try are unsuccessful in accessing NHS dentistry, the British Dental Association has stressed the new government must move at pace to rescue the struggling service.
The Office for National Statistics Experiences of NHS healthcare services in England shows 96.9% of those who do not have a dentist and who tried to access NHS dental care were unsuccessful. The data lands as more than 100 people are reported as queueing as early as 2.30 am just to get a place at an NHS dentist in Warrington, echoing the chaotic scenes from Bristol in February, and in Leigh and Kings Lynn last year.
Of those who failed to secure care, 11% were recorded as going private, 1.6% reported going to A&E and 1.1% reported going to their GP. Medics are neither trained nor equipped to provide dental treatment. 78.5% did nothing, which the professional body warn will only lead to greater burdens on the health service if early signs of disease are left unchecked. Tooth decay is the number one reason for hospital admissions among young children.
Of those who tried to access NHS dentistry, but did not have a dentist, 33.5% reported having an urgent need for NHS care, with 21.3% stating they were in pain.
The BDA has welcomed the tone set by the new Government, who accepted that NHS dentistry is ‘broken’, and stated that closing the oral health gap – particularly where children are concerned – represents a “moral crusade". The professional body says urgency and ambition are now required.
Lord Darzi’s independent review of the NHS has echoed the BDA’s call to fix the broken contract fuelling the access and workforce crisis in NHS dentistry. The report observed: "If dentistry is to continue as a core NHS service, urgent action is needed to develop a contract that balances activity and prevention, is attractive to dentists and rewards those dentists who practice in less served areas.”
BDA Chair Eddie Crouch said:
“This is a reminder that for new patients NHS dentistry has effectively ceased to exist.
“This crisis is piling pressure across our health service, forcing some to go private, while others in agony simply forgo needed care.
“We will keep seeing desperate scenes outside dental practices the length and breadth of this country until we see real reform.”