A record number of patients in London are unable to see an NHS dentist. (NHS England)
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The Oral Heath Foundation has told City News that “NHS dentistry is almost irrevocably broken”, after new research suggests that NHS dentistry is in a state of decay.
The Office for National Statistics’ health insight study, published in November, show that only 51% of those surveyed had access to an NHS dentist. Instead, over a third of Londoners were choosing to pay for private dentistry. A further 11% didn’t have access to a dentist at all.
The study also showed that North East London had the biggest shortage in dental services in the capital, with one in eight residents having access to a dentist.
Exclusive data analysis from Reach PLC also suggested that 61% of NHS dental practices in London are not currently accepting new adult patients. This has led to the emergence of so-called “dental deserts” in London. These are large areas where it is increasingly tough to access NHS dentistry.
NHS dentistry came under further scrutiny in the National Audit Office’s (NAO) report on 27th November. The investigation was into the NHS dental recovery plan proposed by Rishi Sunak’s Conservative government in February 2024. Sunak’s plan outlined an ambition of providing an additional 1.5 million NHS dental treatments.
The NAO found that this recovery plan was not on course. Even if it was, a further “2.6 million treatments per year would be needed to reach pre-pandemic levels” of NHS dentistry.
The number of Londoners who use an NHS dentist are dwindling. (Data from ONS)
‘Dental deserts have become a fact’
Dr Nigel Carter, chief executive of the Oral Health Foundation, thinks that the picture looks bleak for NHS dentistry across the country.
For Dr Carter, the backlog caused by Covid is a key contributing factor, with an estimated 13 million courses of treatment having to be cancelled during the pandemic. This compounded an existing labour shortage caused by Brexit, creating what Dr Carter calls “a perfect storm”
“I can see no way it’s going to get easier,” Dr Carter told City News.
“The key thing is manpower. We need additional manpower. We need the system to be more attractive, so we desperately need a new contract”.
The contract Nigel is referring to is the deal that the NHS has with its practitioners. All dentists are technically self-employed and have to pay for their own costs, such as premises and staff. The health service then commissions these dentists to work for the NHS.
The current funding that NHS dentists receive has been criticised by many as not being enough. This is forcing many dentists to turn to the private sector, where they treat less patients but can earn more money.
‘We’ve never, before the last few years, seen NHS dental practices refusing to see child patients…access to NHS dentistry is virtually impossible in most of the country’
Dr Nigel Carter, Chief Executive, British Oral Foundation
‘Dentistry isn’t given the platform it should be’
Healthwatch Richmond is a charity working to improve public health in the borough of Richmond, South West London.
The charity found that only 27% of adults in Richmond had seen an NHS dentist, compared to the London average of 39%. But they claim it isn’t because people don’t want to go to the dentist, but instead it’s because there simply aren’t enough dentists.
“It’s not a case of people not going to the dentist, it’s not an issue of access inequalities. It’s simply because there’s not enough dentists being commissioned (by the NHS)”, Healthwatch Richmond’s Katie Rodgers told City News.
The charity say that the inaccessibility of NHS dentistry is raised daily by Richmond residents. Some residents cited dentistry as a key cause of stress and anxiety.
Healthwatch Richmond have called for major reform of NHS dentistry
The cost of a healthy mouth
Availability isn’t the only barrier to accessing dental healthcare. To maintain good oral hygiene can be expensive, from buying healthy food to paying for products to maintain healthy teeth.
For those who can pay to be treated privately, a lack of NHS dentistry availability is not a problem. But, for those who cannot, it’s a major concern for experts.
The ONS’ report from November shows that, for people from the most deprived quintile of England, 22% do not have access to a dentist. In contrast, for the most wealthy group in England, only 8.7% of people didn’t have access to a dentist.
Although Richmond may be one of the wealthiest boroughs in London, Healthwatch Richmond maintain that this should not affect the amount of NHS dentists that are commissioned in the borough.
“That’s not what the NHS is,” Healthwatch Richmond’s Katie Rodgers told City News.
“NHS dentistry is there for everybody. Everyone pays their national insurance taxes. It should be accessible for everybody”.
‘We need to start thinking more holistically about dentistry’
The Oral Health Foundation and Healthwatch Richmond both agree that the current state of NHS dentistry needs reform.
Dr Nigel Carter wants to see a combination of “political will” and economic funding from the Labour government. Without this, Dr Nigel believes that waiting lists are going to continue to get longer, eventually leading to a complete drift away from dentistry for the NHS.
Healthwatch Richmond agree that desperate reform is needed.
‘We need to start thinking more holistically. Dentistry shouldn’t be a silo part of the NHS that doesn’t get considered, that patient records aren’t part of the app. Dentistry needs to be fundamentally integrated into the NHS system as a whole’
Suzanne Kapelus, Healthwatch Richmond
But some solutions are far more simple. Currently, NHS dentists are contractually obliged to update the NHS Find a Dentist website every three months. In practice, this doesn’t happen.
Before they spoke to City News, Healthwatch Richmond checked the NHS website and found that only nine of the nineteen dentists in Richmond had updated their website.
The government have said that they are committed to “rebuilding the sector”, but insist it will “take time”. They are also pledging to fund 700,000 urgent dentistry appointment to “help those who need it most”, whilst also looking at how the dental contract can be reformed.
Experts hope that Wes Streeting will announce a re-vamp of the NHS dentistry sector. (AP/Billy Brewer)
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Short Headline
Standfirst
Published Article
HeadlineIn decay: NHS dentistry is at breaking point, according to charities
Short HeadlineAccess to NHS dentistry at an all-time low in the capital
StandfirstThe Oral Health Foundation say that accessing NHS dentistry is "almost impossible", following recent NHS dentistry data
The Oral Heath Foundation has told City News that “NHS dentistry is almost irrevocably broken”, after new research suggests that NHS dentistry is in a state of decay.
The Office for National Statistics’ health insight study, published in November, show that only 51% of those surveyed had access to an NHS dentist. Instead, over a third of Londoners were choosing to pay for private dentistry. A further 11% didn’t have access to a dentist at all.
The study also showed that North East London had the biggest shortage in dental services in the capital, with one in eight residents having access to a dentist.
Exclusive data analysis from Reach PLC also suggested that 61% of NHS dental practices in London are not currently accepting new adult patients. This has led to the emergence of so-called “dental deserts” in London. These are large areas where it is increasingly tough to access NHS dentistry.
NHS dentistry came under further scrutiny in the National Audit Office’s (NAO) report on 27th November. The investigation was into the NHS dental recovery plan proposed by Rishi Sunak’s Conservative government in February 2024. Sunak’s plan outlined an ambition of providing an additional 1.5 million NHS dental treatments.
The NAO found that this recovery plan was not on course. Even if it was, a further “2.6 million treatments per year would be needed to reach pre-pandemic levels” of NHS dentistry.
The number of Londoners who use an NHS dentist are dwindling. (Data from ONS)
‘Dental deserts have become a fact’
Dr Nigel Carter, chief executive of the Oral Health Foundation, thinks that the picture looks bleak for NHS dentistry across the country.
For Dr Carter, the backlog caused by Covid is a key contributing factor, with an estimated 13 million courses of treatment having to be cancelled during the pandemic. This compounded an existing labour shortage caused by Brexit, creating what Dr Carter calls “a perfect storm”
“I can see no way it’s going to get easier,” Dr Carter told City News.
“The key thing is manpower. We need additional manpower. We need the system to be more attractive, so we desperately need a new contract”.
The contract Nigel is referring to is the deal that the NHS has with its practitioners. All dentists are technically self-employed and have to pay for their own costs, such as premises and staff. The health service then commissions these dentists to work for the NHS.
The current funding that NHS dentists receive has been criticised by many as not being enough. This is forcing many dentists to turn to the private sector, where they treat less patients but can earn more money.
‘We’ve never, before the last few years, seen NHS dental practices refusing to see child patients…access to NHS dentistry is virtually impossible in most of the country’
Dr Nigel Carter, Chief Executive, British Oral Foundation
‘Dentistry isn’t given the platform it should be’
Healthwatch Richmond is a charity working to improve public health in the borough of Richmond, South West London.
The charity found that only 27% of adults in Richmond had seen an NHS dentist, compared to the London average of 39%. But they claim it isn’t because people don’t want to go to the dentist, but instead it’s because there simply aren’t enough dentists.
“It’s not a case of people not going to the dentist, it’s not an issue of access inequalities. It’s simply because there’s not enough dentists being commissioned (by the NHS)”, Healthwatch Richmond’s Katie Rodgers told City News.
The charity say that the inaccessibility of NHS dentistry is raised daily by Richmond residents. Some residents cited dentistry as a key cause of stress and anxiety.
Healthwatch Richmond have called for major reform of NHS dentistry
The cost of a healthy mouth
Availability isn’t the only barrier to accessing dental healthcare. To maintain good oral hygiene can be expensive, from buying healthy food to paying for products to maintain healthy teeth.
For those who can pay to be treated privately, a lack of NHS dentistry availability is not a problem. But, for those who cannot, it’s a major concern for experts.
The ONS’ report from November shows that, for people from the most deprived quintile of England, 22% do not have access to a dentist. In contrast, for the most wealthy group in England, only 8.7% of people didn’t have access to a dentist.
Although Richmond may be one of the wealthiest boroughs in London, Healthwatch Richmond maintain that this should not affect the amount of NHS dentists that are commissioned in the borough.
“That’s not what the NHS is,” Healthwatch Richmond’s Katie Rodgers told City News.
“NHS dentistry is there for everybody. Everyone pays their national insurance taxes. It should be accessible for everybody”.
‘We need to start thinking more holistically about dentistry’
The Oral Health Foundation and Healthwatch Richmond both agree that the current state of NHS dentistry needs reform.
Dr Nigel Carter wants to see a combination of “political will” and economic funding from the Labour government. Without this, Dr Nigel believes that waiting lists are going to continue to get longer, eventually leading to a complete drift away from dentistry for the NHS.
Healthwatch Richmond agree that desperate reform is needed.
‘We need to start thinking more holistically. Dentistry shouldn’t be a silo part of the NHS that doesn’t get considered, that patient records aren’t part of the app. Dentistry needs to be fundamentally integrated into the NHS system as a whole’
Suzanne Kapelus, Healthwatch Richmond
But some solutions are far more simple. Currently, NHS dentists are contractually obliged to update the NHS Find a Dentist website every three months. In practice, this doesn’t happen.
Before they spoke to City News, Healthwatch Richmond checked the NHS website and found that only nine of the nineteen dentists in Richmond had updated their website.
The government have said that they are committed to “rebuilding the sector”, but insist it will “take time”. They are also pledging to fund 700,000 urgent dentistry appointment to “help those who need it most”, whilst also looking at how the dental contract can be reformed.
Experts hope that Wes Streeting will announce a re-vamp of the NHS dentistry sector. (AP/Billy Brewer)
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