Majority of NHS dentists shut to new patients - see in your area
Eight out of 10 NHS dentists have shut their doors to new adult patients as the Tories were accused of presiding over the "slow death" of the service.
Analysis by Labour found 54% of dental surgeries in England aren't accepting any new patients - with 82% refusing to take on adults and 71% shutting their doors to new child patients. Swathes of England have become 'dental deserts’, with reports of patients yanking out their own teeth because they can't get treatment.
The survey found that 26 constituencies where there were no surgeries accepting any new patients, while 245 seats had no surgeries adding adults to their books. In the South West, 99% of dentists have shut their doors to new adult patients, with just four practices welcoming new patients across the region.
The vast majority of dentists in the North East (96.8%) have closed their lists to adults, with all the surgeries that responded in constituencies like Wansbeck and City of Durham not accepting new adult patients. In the East Midlands 94.3% of dentists have also shut their books to new additions over 18-years-old, compared to 59.7% in London.
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Shadow Health Secretary Wes Streeting said: "The Conservatives have left NHS dentistry to wither on the vine, and now the service is barely worthy of the name. Patients are told to go without or do it themselves, with DIY dentistry now shockingly common in Tory Britain. The slow death of dentistry is the Ghost of Christmas Future for the NHS, if the Conservatives are given a fifth term: those who can afford it going private and those who can't left with a poor service for poor people."
It comes as experts warned that universal NHS dentistry has most likely “gone for good” after decades of neglect. The Nuffield Trust said the struggling service has been pushed to the "most perilous point in its 75-year history" and risked collapse without radical action.
The Covid pandemic, austerity and the cost-of-living crisis have hit dentistry hard, resulting in nearly six million fewer courses of NHS dental treatment last year than before the pandemic. The think tank said funding in 2021/22 had been slashed £525million from 2014/15, and there are widespread problems in accessing a dentist, particularly for people from Black and Asian ethnic groups. Tooth decay is now the most common reason for a hospital admission for children aged six to 10, it said.
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Without greater means testing, reforms to contracts or a huge cash injection, the NHS dentistry will be pushed to the brink, the Nuffield Trust feared. In the short term, it recommended longer waits between check-ups and efforts to bring dentists back from the private sector
Nuffield Trust chief executive Thea Stein said: "We need to see immediate action taken to slow the decay of NHS dentistry, but it is increasingly clear that we can no longer muddle through with an endless series of tweaks to the contract. Difficult and frankly unpalatable policy choices will need to be made, including how far the NHS aspires to offer a comprehensive and universal service, given that it does not do so at present. If, as seems, that the original model of NHS dentistry is gone for good, then surely the imperative is to provide enough access for a basic core service for those most in need."
Shawn Charlwood, Chair of the British Dental Association’s General Dental Practice Committee, said: “We’re seeing patients in pain reach for pliers because of choices made in Westminster. These access problems are not inevitable, and giving dentists the time and the resources will make a real difference.”
Manchester-based dentist Ben Atkins, a spokesperson for the Oral Health Foundation, said: “Amidst the dire state of NHS dentistry, countless individuals are left unable to secure appointments and access essential care. An urgent rescue plan is imperative to safeguard the future of NHS dentistry and ensure timely access to vital oral healthcare for all. Access to NHS dentistry is a basic right. It's disheartening to witness the decline.”
A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: “We are making progress to boost NHS dental services and compared to the previous year 1.7 million more adults and 800,000 more children are receiving NHS dental care. We fund more than £3 billion of NHS dentistry a year and are taking preventative measures to improve oral health, such as expanding water fluoridation schemes. We have also announced plans to increase dental training places by 40% and recently ran a consultation to better utilise the skills of dental hygienists and therapists. Further measures to improve access and increase the number of NHS dentists through our dental recovery plan will be set out shortly."
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