News story

29th September 2005

Urgent Action Needed to Prevent Disappearance of NHS Dentistry

Northavon MP Steve Webb has warned that urgent action is needed to prevent NHS dentistry disappearing over the coming years. The MP was speaking on the day that the Prime Minister admitted that his 1999 pledge to ensure that everyone would have access to an NHS dentist had not been fulfilled.

At last week's Liberal Democrat conference, Steve Webb wound up a debate on a successful motion calling for action to rebuild NHS dentistry which has been in decline for over a decade. The MP, who has had a private meeting with local dentists in order to understand their concerns, said that the Government needed to act quickly to prevent more NHS dentists going over to entirely private practice.

Steve Webb said:

"Dentists tell me that what they want is to spend more time with each patient so that they can help them to maintain healthy teeth, not simply spend all their time picking up the pieces when things have gone wrong.

"But the Government's proposed new contract for dentists will continue to pay for "drilling and filling" and does not provide any time or incentive to do preventative work. As a result, many more dentists are expected to leave the NHS and practise privately.

"We will end up in a situation where large numbers of people will not have access to routine dental check-ups and preventative treatment, and as a result many people will suffer serious dental problems in the future."

In March 2005 in South Gloucestershire, roughly one child in three (32%) and nearly one adult in two (47%) were not registered with an NHS dentist.

There are particular concerns that new rules will make it more difficult for children to find an NHS dentist. At present, some dentists will take on children on NHS terms where their parents are fee-paying patients, but this practice will be banned by the Government from next year. It is expected that some dentists will respond by insisting that the whole family is treated privately, further reducing access to NHS dentistry for children.