Thousands of dentists not seeing millions of NHS patients in UK 'dental deserts'

13 March 2024 , 23:15

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Huge gaps have been left in the nation's tooth care (Image: Getty Images)

Only around one in seven dentists now works only for the NHS, leaving huge gaps in the nation’s care.

With millions living in dental deserts, the General Dental Council audit suggests only 5,277 dentists out of 35,000 in total do not see any private patients. The regulator has revealed the snapshot data after a withdrawal of dentists from the health service triggered an NHS access crisis.

A survey of 25,000 dentists found just 15% now work only for the NHS, while 19% see only private patients. Of the rest, 27% mainly see NHS patients and 14% mainly private – defined as spending 75% of their time on one or the other.

Eddie Crouch, chair of the British Dental Association, said: “The Government needs to use these numbers to pinpoint where the real dental deserts are. When access problems are hitting every part of the country, this research must not sit on a shelf gathering dust.”

The Mirror is campaigning for the return of the NHS dentist. People living in dental deserts are increasingly resorting to yanking out their own teeth or ending up in A&E with severe oral health problems.

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Stefan Czerniawski, General Dental Council director, said: “We know more about dentists’ working patterns than ever. For the first time, there is now a picture of the balance between private and NHS practice across the UK.” The Department of Health and Social Care said: “Our dental recovery plan sets out how we will deliver millions more appointments. We already invest £3billion a year in dentistry and we’re starting to see positive change.”

Martin Bagot