The British Dental Association has called on Government to heed the call of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC), and deliver fundamental reform of NHS dentistry, underpinned by sustainable funding.
The Committee have slammed repeated tweaks at the margins from the last government and expressed concern over the lack of detail from the new administration on the shape and timings of comprehensive reform.
The PAC has called on the authorities to be clear what the actual cost of delivering NHS dentistry is, stating "without which any efforts at reform will fail to address fundamental issues around the affordability of NHS work." Evidence put by the BDA to the Committee showed the typical practice loses over £42 delivering a set of NHS dentures.
News comes as analysis published by the Nuffield Trust and The King’s Fund shows satisfaction with NHS dentistry is at an all-time low. As recently as 2019 this was at 60%, but it has now fallen to a record low of 20%. Dissatisfaction levels (55%) are the highest for any specific NHS service asked about.
The Labour Party committed to reform the discredited contract fuelling the crisis in NHS dentistry. Lord Darzi’s diagnosis of the problems in the NHS noted: "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.” The Government has yet to offer a mandate for formal negotiations to begin.
Shiv Pabary, Chair of the British Dental Association's General Dental Practice Committee said:
"MPs have arrived at an inescapable conclusion, that tweaks at the margins have not and will not save NHS dentistry.
"We've never budged from our view that government's past and present have needed to go further and faster.
"We're ready to roll up our sleeves and start on the fundamental reform required to give this service a future."