Today, the Association of Dental Groups (ADG) has launched ‘Patients First’, a report which details seven core recommendations for Government that, “if implemented will transform the experience for dental patients in every corner of the United Kingdom.”
At present, dental services are in abject crisis. Many pockets of the country have become ‘dental deserts,’ where low numbers of dentists mean it is near impossible for patients to access dental care.
A quarter of English children have experienced dental decay. The number of adults seen by a dentist was 17.5% lower in the 24 months up to June 2023 than the comparative period in 2019.
Too many desperate patients, sometimes waiting years for a dental appointment, resort to agonizing DIY dentistry. Others turn to the GP or A&E in their droves, piling pressure on other NHS services already on their knees. A staggering 380,000 people present at their GP with a dental problem every year. Meanwhile data shows that 4.7 million people called the NHS 111 line from 2019 onwards regarding dental care, with average calls per day increasing 3,327 in 2023/2024 compared with 2,024 in 2020/21, at the height of the pandemic.
The ADG, which will present its report in Parliament on Wednesday afternoon to MPs and Peers from across the political aisle, seeks to work with the new Government to improve dental care across the board.
The member group, which represents 10,000 clinicians, and 1,800 practices, is campaigning to improve the ‘recruitment’ and ‘retention’ of the dental workforce, which it views as the twin central challenges plighting our services.
While Neil Carmichael, Chair of the ADG and former MP commends “the excellent work of our existing dental teams,” as he explains, “Dentists are not entering the workforce at anywhere near a high enough rate, nor staying put once qualified.
“There are too few places at UK dental schools, preventing the growth of home-grown talent, while unnecessary bureaucracy prevents hundreds of high-quality dental experts from practicing here.
“Meanwhile dental contracts are so unappealing that experienced dentists are choosing to retire early, reduce their NHS commitments, or reduce their working hours.”
The UK has a dismally low number of dentists per head of population compared with other advanced European economies.
Carmichael continues: “Our recommendations are centered around increasing the numbers of dentists working in order to provide better access for patients. Just 100,000 more dentists will create 750,000 more appointments, massively improving access for so many patients in dire need, and reducing pressure on NHS services elsewhere.
“We stand ready to support the new Government in putting patients first.”
The ADG’s seven recommendations, most of which can be actioned in the short term, without legislative change, and with no cost to Government, are as follows:
- Commit to support recruitment: Accelerate long-term workforce plan and unlock barriers preventing high-quality international dentists registering
- Use commissioning solutions: To meet the needs of the population and roll out examples of successful flexible commissioning
- Plan the workforce: Recognize the relationship between the mixed economy, skill mix and devolved nations
- Invest in community prevention: Support water fluoridation, have policies for sugar reduction, hold Integrated Care Boards/ LA/ NHS to account for delivering community preventative schemes like supervised toothbrushing
- Renumerate practice-based prevention: Offer realistic remuneration and promote flexible commissioning for practice-based prevention.
- Protect the dental budget: Ringfence the budget and require ICBs to have a clear plan for dental underspend.
- Support the retention of the workforce: Continue to reform the dental contract and ensure that pay review processes are transparent.
ENDS