Experts have called for “radical and urgent change” to NHS dentistry after figures revealed the number of patients being seen remains well below pre-pandemic levels.
Data published by NHS Digital revealed 18.1 million adults in England were seen by an NHS dentist in the 24 months leading up to June 2023 compared with 21.9 million in June 2019.
However, the total for June 2023 is up on June 2022, when it was reported that 16.4 million adults had seen an NHS dentist in the previous two years.
The British Dental Association (BDA) has now called for “radical and urgent change” to get NHS dentistry back to pre-pandemic levels.
The Government made some changes to the NHS dentistry contract at the start of the current financial year, but these were dismissed by the organisation as “minor tweaks”.
Demoralised dentists are walking away from a broken system, while millions struggle to access the care they need— Eddie Crouch, BDA chairman
The number of NHS dentists practising in England also fell year-on-year to 24,151 in 2022/13 from 24,272 in the previous 12 months.
The BDA claims this “reflects the wholesale inadequacy” of the changes to the dental contract.
Chairman Eddie Crouch said: “We’re seeing the limits on the recovery and this Government’s ambition.
“Demoralised dentists are walking away from a broken system, while millions struggle to access the care they need. NHS dentistry can come back from the brink, but only if ministers turn the page.”
Earlier this month the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) said it would consult on plans to give dental hygienists more power in a bid to tackle delays.
The move forms part of its Primary Care Recovery Plan, which was announced in May.
If it goes ahead, dental hygienists could be granted the power to administer certain medicines without the need for a prescription.
The DHSC said it would ensure staff “can be better supported to provide additional care to patients and reduce unnecessary delays”.
It comes after a damning report from the Health and Social Care Committee, published in July, revealed more people are pulling out their own teeth at home as they can not access NHS services.
NHS dentistry continues to be the second most common issue people report to Healthwatch, with many living in pain, while some turn to private care— Louise Ansari, Healthwatch England
The document called for “urgent and fundamental reform” and said there was evidence of pain and distress that is “totally unacceptable in the 21st century”.
It included a YouGov poll of 2,104 people across the UK conducted in March 2023, in which 10% admitted to attempting “DIY dentistry”.
Louise Ansari, chief executive at Healthwatch England, said the new data backs up its claims “that people in every corner of England are struggling to get the dental treatment they need when they need it”.
“NHS dentistry continues to be the second most common issue people report to Healthwatch, with many living in pain, while some turn to private care,” she said.
“But private treatment is not an option for everyone, with reports suggesting people from the most deprived communities struggle the most to access dental care.”
Ms Ansari added that Healthwatch England “has repeatedly called for fully resourced dental contract reform to tackle these deep-seated problems, and for the Government to publish its dental recovery plan urgently”.
Earlier this month, the Government said the blueprint is “due to be announced shortly”.
A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: “We are making progress to boost NHS dental services with 23% more courses of treatment, meaning 1.7 million more adults and 800,000 more children received NHS dental care.
“We fund more than £3 billion of NHS dentistry a year, have announced plans to increase dental training places by 40% and last week we launched a consultation to better utilise the skills of dental hygienists and therapists.
“We will shortly set out further measures to improve access and increase the number of NHS dentists through our dental recovery plan.”
An NHS spokesperson said: “These figures actually show that NHS dental treatment for children has increased by almost two thirds since 2021 as the health service recovers services which were inevitably disrupted by the pandemic.
“The NHS has introduced initial contract reform measures so dental teams can carry out even more treatments while the Long Term Workforce Plan commits to expanding dentistry training places by two fifths.”
