The British Dental Association (BDA) warned that the service is reaching the end of the road during providing evidence to the Health and Social Care Committee’s inquiry into NHS dentistry on March 21, 2022.
The committee heard how a failed NHS contract and chronic underfunding have fuelled an exodus from the service and that in place of reform, the government has delivered mere tweaks to the system without a penny of new investment.
Research undertaken by the BBC in 2022 revealed that nine in 10 practices were unable to take on new adult NHS patients. The latest BDA survey indicates that over half of dentists in England (50.3 per cent) have reduced their NHS commitment since the start of the pandemic. Seventy-four per cent now intend to reduce – or further reduce – the amount of NHS work they undertake this year.
A recent analysis of government data by the BDA indicates unmet need for dentistry in 2022 stood at over 11 million people, which equates to almost one in four of England's adult population.
Shawn Charlwood, chair of the British Dental Association’s General Dental Practice Committee, told the committee, “Recent tweaks to a failed contract will not stop the exodus of dentists and their teams from the NHS.
“A fundamental barrier has been funding. There is only enough NHS dentistry commissioned in this country for 50 per cent of the population. Can you imagine if this was general medical practice? There would be rioting.
“What ministers are doing at the moment is rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic, while the service slowly slips into the sea. Without fundamental reform, this service will not meet the demands of the British people.
“This really isn’t rocket science. Improve the terms and conditions, increase commitment through sustainable funding, and we will have NHS dentists again.”