Health Secretary Victoria Atkins on Wednesday defended the Government's plan to give dentists cash to accept new NHS patients as figures showed that two-thirds of Londoners had not seen a dentist in the past two years.
The Cabinet minister said that plans to offer dentists up to £20,000 to set up practices in areas with poor access would help give children a "smile for life" despite criticism from health leaders.
Under the Government's dental recovery plan, dentists will be offered a “new patient payment” of £15 to £50. Officials also hope to incentivise 240 dentists to work in communities where there is less access with one-off “golden hello” payments of £20,000 for working in “under-served” areas for up to three years.
NHS England will also roll out “dental vans” in rural areas so people in the most isolated communities will be able to access help.
Ms Atkins told BBC Breakfast: "This is about introducing practical measures that we have already seen work. We want this to spread across the country so that children can get a smile for life and adults can get the help they need."
But she declined to say whether the plans would be funded by an underspend in the NHS dentistry budget, following claims by Labour of a £400m underspend last year.
“The budget is £3 billion. We are spending more on the NHS than we ever have," she said.
Dental leaders warned that the plans do not go far enough and that long waits for NHS dentistry were inevitable due to high demand.
Eddie Crouch, chairman of the British Dental Association, told Sky News that the money announced to fund the dental recovery plan was “not new money”, adding: “It’s an allocation of the contracts that are already with the dental practices.”
Earlier this week, footage appeared online showing hundreds of people queuing outside a newly opened dental practice in Bristol to register as NHS patients.
Analysis of NHS figures by the Standard revealed that just 37.4 per cent of adults in London had seen a dentist in the 24 months up to June 2023 – the third lowest figure of any region in England. Nearly half (47 per cent) of children had not seen a dentist in the past year.
The NHS recommends that under-18s see a dentist at least once a year because their teeth can decay faster, compared to two years for adults.
Labour’s shadow health secretary Wes Streeting said that ministers would need to reform the dentist contract to plug the shortfall to recruit and retain NHS dentists.
He told BBC Breakfast: "I will get the dentists in straight away to agree the process for contract renegotiation in week one of a Labour government."
