Reducing A&E pressure

The chair of the BDA’s General Dental Practice Committee, HenrikOvergaard-Nielsen, has written to Sara Hurley, chief dental officer (CDO) for England, seeking a meeting to establish if such an agreement can be reached.

The letter suggests that this could address the CDO’s concerns about the need for a long term solution to improve access to urgent dental care, as well as reducing costly A&E and GP attendances for dental complaints.

The BDA estimates that around 135,000 dental patients attend A&E per year at an annual cost of nearly £18m – with over 95,000 cases of toothache coming in at £12.5m – while a further 600,000 patients a year seek treatment from GPs. Neither service is equipped to treat dental pain.

The letter points out that if the BDA’s proposal was adopted it would also have the benefit of providing a clear indication to NHS 111 which dental practices have the availability and capacity to treat patients who need urgent care.