Reality bites: Nearly HALF of dentists are ‘severing ties’ with the NHS and going private, health bosses warn

• Survey of dentists found 45% have reduced their NHS commitment since Covid 
• 75% plan to cut NHS services further, leaving millions struggling to access care
• If nothing is done, ‘this is how NHS dentistry will die’ dentist group has warned
• They have called for the Government do more to support NHS dental services

Almost half of high street dentists in England are ‘severing ties’ with the NHS and going private, industry experts warned today.

The British Dental Association (BDA) said if the current trend continues ‘this is how NHS dentistry will die’. It could leave millions of patients ‘with no options’.

The NHS crisis — exacerbated by the Covid pandemic — has left desperate patients resorting to risky ‘DIY’ procedures. 

Since March 2020, around 3,000 dentists have moved away from NHS work entirely.

While most dentists provide a mixture of NHS and private care, its poll suggests the balance could soon shift in favour of more private provision.

Some 45 per cent of the 2,200 dentists polled have reduced their NHS commitment since the start of the pandemic.

The figures also found 75 per cent are ‘likely’ to reduce, or further reduce, their NHS commitment in the next 12 months.

A survey of 2,200 high street dentists found nearly half have reduced their NHS commitments since the pandemic 

There are 3 NHS charge bands:

Band 1: £23.80

Covers an examination, diagnosis and advice. If necessary, it also includes X-rays, a scale and polish, and planning for further treatment.

Band 2: £65.20

Covers all treatment included in Band 1, plus additional treatment, such as fillings, root canal treatment and removing teeth (extractions).

Band 3: £282.80

Covers all treatment included in Bands 1 and 2, plus more complex procedures, such as crowns, dentures and bridges.

For comparison, check-ups can cost between £20 and £120 at private dentists, according to Which?.

Dentures and bridges can also cost up to £2,520, the consumer watchdog says. 

Almost two thirds (65 per cent) have said their practice has unfilled vacancies for dentists, while 87 per cent said they have experienced symptoms of stress, burnout or other mental health problems in the last 12 months.

The professional body is calling for ‘radical and urgent’ action from the Government to help struggling dentists.

It said the NHS dental contract, which was initiated in 2006, puts ‘targets ahead of patient need, effectively setting a limit on the numbers of NHS treatments a dentist can do in a year’.

Shawn Charlwood, chairman of the BDA’s General Dental Practice Committee, said: ‘Overstretched and underfunded, thousands of dentists have already left the NHS, but many more have begun severing their ties.

‘This is how NHS dentistry will die, a lingering decline that unchecked will leave millions of patients with no options.

‘Without urgent reform and adequate funding there is little hope we can halt this exodus.’

It comes as MPs on the Health and Social Care Committee are to examine issues in the sector at a meeting on Tuesday.

Earlier this month it was revealed some Britons struggling to access an NHS dentists are flying overseas for treatment claiming it is cheaper than paying privately. 

Stuart Woodmansey, from Market Weighton in Yorkshire flies himself and his family to his wife’s native Brazil for dental treatment. 

Mr Woodmansey said it works out ‘much cheaper’ than paying privately, despite flights costing up to £700 per person.

Millions of people have been left without access to dental care after the number of NHS dentists fell to their lowest level ever last year 

Stuart Woodmansey, from Market Weighton in Yorkshire, claims he hasn’t been able to get an appointment ‘for years’. Meanwhile, his Brazilian-born wife Kedma, who moved to Britain in 2017, can’t even register herself or their son Jacob with a local NHS dentist

The family are not alone, with one county in England, Somerset, being declared a ‘dental desert’ due to thousands of patients struggling to get access to dental care.

NHS officials have even been forced to set up a helpline for the county’s 500,000 people to access emergency dental care but patients groups have warned this

Campaign groups have warned patients are facing a ‘twin crisis’ of access and affordability, which could widen inequalities — despite the Government’s ‘levelling-up’ agenda.

The NHS now has the smallest dentist workforce in a decade, according to campaign groups, with just 21,544 as of the end of January.

Industry bodies have warned the lack of NHS dental appointments could lead to a rise in mouth cancers and diabetes, which are often spotted at check-ups. 

The Department of Health and Social Care was contacted for comment.  

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