“Check-ups are hard to come by, but it will prove much harder for ministers to find a dentist who backs their outlandish claims,” said Shawn Charlwood, chair of the British Dental Association (BDA)’s general dental practice committee.
“This profession has seen through the spin. Empty soundbites won’t stop queues outside practices, and dodgy statistics won’t call time on ‘DIY’ dentistry.”
The organisation has warned that the plan is little better than “gin, pliers and a bit of brute force.”
Three quarters (75%) of dentists do not believe the plan will improve NHS access for new patients. Meanwhile, 93% said the proposals are not sufficiently ambitious to meet the scale of the challenge facing NHS dentistry.
What does the new dental plan contain?
Demand has surged since COVID-19 caused backlog across the country.
Only 41% of practices say they are operating at pre-COVID levels of capacity. 62% cite higher needs patients requiring more clinical time as a factor constraining their practice, reflecting the huge backlogs generated by ongoing access problems.
The government’s dental plan hopes to fix the dental crisis by offering dentists in underserved communities £20,000 bonuses, and promising practioners “increased remuneration” for working in NHS practises. Mobile dental units and increased water fluoridation are other included policies.
Health and social care secretary Victoria Atkins said that the plan would make access to dentistry “Faster, simpler and fairer for patients.”
“This scheme is good for patients and good for dentists. It will see millions more appointments made available for those who need them, while also rewarding those dentists who are taking on new NHS patients,” she said.
However, the BDA claims that the £200m announcement does not include new investment – rather, it’s covered by an existing £450m underspend taken from practices struggling to hit their punitive NHS targets.
“Bringing dentistry back into the 21st century requires real commitment, which is frankly in short supply,” said Charlwood.
He is set to give evidence to the House of Commons health and social care committee today (19 March).
Matthew McGregor, CEO of campaign group 38 Degrees, whose petition with the BDA has secured more than 200,000 signatures, described the state of care as “horrifying.”
“When people are taking pliers to their gums or pulling teeth out with string and a slammed door, it’s obvious that NHS dentistry is broken – and the government’s toothless recovery plan isn’t enough to save it,” he said.
“Dentists know it, and patients know it. And, in an election year, politicians from all parties better show that they know it too. Every single one of us needs access to safe dental care that we can afford, so any party that doesn’t convince voters it can fix this crisis will feel the impact at the polls.”
