Dentists have accused the Government of “defending the indefensible” during an inquiry into why millions of Brits can no longer get care on the NHS.
MPs grilled ministers and NHS leaders on why some patients are resorting to ripping their own teeth out.
The Tories’ “flawed” payment contract for dentists has been blamed on increasing numbers cutting their NHS work and going private.
Research by the BBC over summer indicated nine out of ten practices in England are unable to take on new adult NHS patients.
It sparked the probe by the Health and Social Care Committee into how the current NHS dental contract disincentivises dentists from taking on new patients.
Health Minister Neil O’Brien claimed “the recovery is much faster in some areas than others”, adding that access was better in inner city areas than in rural and coastal areas.
He admitted problems accessing an NHS dentist were being felt most by those who need to register with a new dentist.
He told MPs: “One of the things that I am very struck by is the greater difference between those who experience problems accessing a dentist when they want to, between those who have an existing relationship with an NHS dentist and those who don't.
“That is one thing I'm absolutely keen to focus on to tackle this problem about people who can't get an NHS dentist and to improve that.
“We can see at the moment how many dentists are taking on new patients. We want to drive it up.”
It comes after the Mirror revealed a huge rise in “unmet need” with one in four adults either unable to get an appointment, languishing on a waiting list, put off by long long waits, or the cost.
Analysis of the GP Survey suggests 11 million people in England were in one of these situations last year - up from four million in 2019.
The British Dental Association refuted ministers' claims any such "recovery" is taking place.
BDA chairman Eddie Crouch said: “Witnesses tried to defend the indefensible, attempting to put a gloss on the government’s record.
“It won’t wash. NHS dentistry needs urgent reform, it’s got tweaks. It requires sustainable funding, instead we’ve got a charge hike that’s hit the patients who need us most.
“An exodus of dentists is still in motion, and millions remain unable to secure the care they need.”
Dentists say they are paid the same amount from Government for a patient needing five fillings as someone needing one.
Patients are being priced out by a record 8.5% hike in charges from this week and the most "high needs" patients are least welcome at surgeries because dentists make a loss treating them.
The nation’s deteriorating oral health means some patients are attempting DIY dentistry before taking out loans to pay for treatment abroad.
A plumber who yanked out four of his teeth with string welcomed the Health and Social Care Committee’s inquiry into the state of NHS dentistry.
Grant Lakey, 58, has been forced thousands of pounds into debt to pay to have teeth replaced abroad because no dental practices locally were accepting NHS patients.
The father-of-two told the Mirror: “I welcome this inquiry but for me it’s all come too late.
“NHS dentistry has been on a steady decline with dentists only worried about profits and not about real patients.
“Now I have been left with debts.”
Grant lost some of his upper teeth in an accident at work which meant his lower teeth started to come loose.
Grant tried all six local dentists near his home in Bromley, south east London, before taking out a £6,000 loan to have six implants fitted in Turkey.
He explained: “It’s terrible when your teeth are all moving around because you are scared to bite anything. It feels like you have a mouth full of marbles.
“It sounds a bit mediaeval but I ended up having to tie string around them and kind of garotted it out.
“I was in a lot of pain and there was quite a bit of blood. I was just so lucky I didn’t get infected.”
Grant said he was left depressed by the state of his teeth and the “stigma”.
“The emotional effect and the stress have been awful,” he said.
It came as the Government released new data showing more than 30,000 adults turned up in hospital in agony last year needing emergency teeth extractions.
Mr O’Brien released the data in response to a Parliamentary question from Labour MP Dame Diana Johnson.
Some 31,616 of such hospital tooth decay extractions took place between March 2022 and February 2023.
Sarah Fletcher, chief executive of Healthwatch Lincolnshire, told MPs: "We've got families that are having to travel hundreds of miles to go to an NHS dentist - they've got the cost of that on top of everything else and maybe a day off work."
"They are telling us they're in acute pain, that pain is not being addressed, they can't afford to have the treatment, they've gone many years without treatment and, therefore, when they do manage to get into a dentist there is that much work that needs to be done that actually even under the NHS, it's often not affordable."
She added: "We've heard more about access to NHS dental services than any other issues.
"It's really significant for us and it's daily.
"We hear from people daily about it, mostly asking us to help them find a dentist.
"Yesterday I talked to one of my team who said 'I have palpitations now when people ring up and ask for help finding an NHS dentist because I know I can't help them and there's nothing I can say or do other than signpost them to possible practices that might put them on a waiting list'."
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