Millions without NHS dental care as practices close or turn private

New figures reveal 2,000 dentists quit service across England last year

- Denis Campbell

 

"Dental deserts" are emerging across England after more than 2,000 dentists quit the NHS last year, leaving millions of people struggling to get check-ups or problems fixed on the health service, a new report reveals. The exodus is exacerbating a crisis in which patients battle to get dental treatment because so few surgeries will see them as NHS patients.

The number of dentists providing NHS care in England fell from 23,733 at the end of 2020 to 21,544 at the end of January this year, according to the latest NHS figures, obtained by the Association of Dental Groups (ADG) under freedom of information laws.

Given that dentists each have a caseload of about 2,000 patients, the depletion of the workforce has left an estimated 4 million people without access to NHS care. The NHS now has its lowest number of dentists for a decade, according to the ADG, which represents major chains of surgeries.

The difficulty obtaining dental treatment is one of the main sources of frustration with the NHS, with just one in three satisfied with dental services. People in some areas may wait three years for an appointment, while many are forced to go private. Some have rung dozens of surgeries in a quest to be accepted as an NHS patient, or travelled long distances for care. More and more surgeries do little or no NHS-funded work, citing problems with the dental contract.

Covid, Brexit and government underfunding of NHS dental services have combined to create a "critical" situation that is likely to get worse before it gets better, the ADG warned.