Over 2,500 dentists quit the NHS last year across England and Wales, which has led to millions of citizens being left with limited access to dental healthcare services. It was when the term Dental Deserts rose as certain areas were deprived of efficiently running dental practices, particularly near the coasts and in rural areas. Access has become so limited that people in some areas have been waiting three years for an appointment.

According to a recent YouGov survey of 2,104 people across the UK; 1 in 5 Britons (22%) are currently not registered with a dentist, those who were not registered (37%) said this was because they couldn’t find an NHS dentist, and 23% said it was because they could not afford to pay for treatment. It presents that not only is dental healthcare becoming less accessible for citizens, but it is also becoming much more expensive, therefore diverting individuals from attending to their needs.

So, what is the main reason for dentists leaving the NHS?

Well, there is a combination of factors why dentists are leaving the NHS, which are:

1. Dentists are discontent with contracts given to them by the NHS.

2. Lack of new dentists being trained

3. Brexit

The report states that before the EU referendum consistently well over 500 dentists trained in the EU/EFTA countries registered in the UK each year, making up around a quarter of the workforce.  The halving of this figure, the report suggests, has played a part in the current access to NHS dental care.

  4. Coronavirus (Dentists barred English NHS patients over skipped checkups in pandemic).

Patients across England who failed to visit their dentists since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic have been systematically barred by some clinics from getting NHS treatment.

Dental practices across the country informed patients they could no longer get NHS treatment, citing non-attendance over a period of two years or more that included lockdown.

In Scotland, patients must be given three months’ notice by a dental practice if it intends to remove them from a register. The rules do not apply in England, which allowed practices to de-list some NHS patients after the pandemic as they faced a backlog in care and the prospect of better returns from private practice.

Due to the media, many believe that dentists are going private due to greed, because they were wanting more money. Although this is incorrect, as many dentists do want to stay in the NHS and work under them, how the contracts are formatted and how dentists are paid, makes it hard for them to do their job.

As waiting lists are getting longer, individuals tend to develop new dental problems during the wait, which means that when they are finally seen by dentists they have accumulated a large number of dental problems that need to be attended to therefore taking a longer time. NHS dentists have to pay half the lab fee, meaning that when salary is finally calculated, it amounts to less than minimum wage. Research has shown a 40% drop in income of NHS dentists over a decade, which does not increase with inflation. Furthermore, there has been a large increase in the cost of equipment and materials, with minimal funding, meaning that NHS dentists are not able to carry out certain treatments due to a lack of resources to do so.

Many are aiming to combat this problem, like charities, including DentAid, which provide dental and oral care to those experiencing homelessness and under-serviced communities in the UK.

Dentaid The Dental Charity’s work continues to expand across the UK, the need to establish regional hubs is becoming clear. Hubs reduce costs, travel time and our environmental impact allowing us to visit more towns and cities more often.

Dentaid The Dental Charity believe that educating newly qualified dentists (foundation dentists) about how to provide care for the most vulnerable people in communities is essential. It gives them a different perspective on the impact dentistry can make.

I learnt the barriers that refugees and asylum seekers face when trying to access dental care in the UK and the difficulties in providing dentistry to a group of people with high dental needs with limited or no access to care. I saw first hand the valuable and effective work that Dentaid does and I was grateful to be a part of the team for the day - Foundation dentist - Bristol

References:

1. Ungoed-Thomas, J. (2024). Dentists barred English NHS patients over skipped checkups in pandemic. The Observer. [online] 11 Feb. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/society/2024/feb/11/dentists-barred-english-nhs-patients-over-skipped-checkups-in-pandemic [Accessed 31 May 2024].

2. The Dentist (2022). Brexit warning. [online] The Dentist. Available at: https://www.the-dentist.co.uk/content/news/brexit-warning/ [Accessed 31 May 2024].

3. DentaAid The Dental Charity (2023). Annual report . [online] DentaAid. Available at: https://www.dentaid.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/Annual-report-.pdf [Accessed 31 May 2024].

Written by Paula U.

Moderated by Joanna