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NHS dentistry RIP

hifinutt

hifinutt

hifinutt
shocking the lack of NHS dentistry and rise in mouth cancer due to lack of visits to dentists .. what can be done ? and dentists on here ?

Decades of policy neglect have left the future of NHS dental care hanging in the balance, with the result that universal NHS dentistry has most likely “gone for good”, experts warn today. The Nuffield Trust concludes that the service is at its most perilous point in its 75-year history and radical action will be needed to prevent its further decline: either through further means testing, extensive reforms to dental contracts combined with a huge boost in staffing, or a large injection of funds.

In a comprehensive analysis of routine and publicly available data on funding, activity, access and staffing, the report finds that the pandemic, austerity and the cost of living crisis have hit NHS dentistry hard. It presents data showing that nearly six million fewer courses of NHS dental treatment were provided last year than in the pre-pandemic year, funding in 2021/22 was over £500m lower in real terms than in 2014/15, and there are widespread problems in accessing a dentist, which are particularly marked for people from Black and Asian ethnic groups. Children's oral health is a particular concern, with tooth decay the most common reason for a hospital admission for children aged 6-10.

https://www.nuffieldtrust.org.uk/ne...-good-without-radical-action-think-tank-warns
 
Our dentist wrote to us earlier in the year to say we were out and had to start paying now. Not great.
 
garyi said:
Our dentist wrote to us earlier in the year to say we were out and had to start paying now. Not great.
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A friend recently told me their dentist casually said to them that if they hadn't happened to book a check-up that month they'd have been struck-off the list and would have to start paying. No reminder or notification.

Meanwhile my OH has just shelled out the best part of £3k for a root canal treatment...
 
kensalriser said:
Stop voting Tory. Dentistry has effectively been privatised, other parts of the NHS are next in line.
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would labour do any better to solve this mess ? anyone know their plans for NHS dentistry in this utter crisis ?

brits have told how they have been forced to pull out their own teeth with pliers or travel abroad to see a dentist after finding it impossible to get an NHS appointment.

George Glinos, from Liverpool, said he was first unable to see a dentist on the health service five years ago, which led him to remove one of his own teeth.
www.dailymail.co.uk

Victims of the NHS dentistry crisis

George Glinos, from Liverpool, said he was first unable to see a dentist on the health service five years ago, which led him to remove one of his own teeth.
www.dailymail.co.uk www.dailymail.co.uk
the exodus of dentists from the NHS is continuing at a pace, but going unseen in official figures, according to new survey evidence from the British Dental Association.

A survey of General Dental Practitioners in England shows:

Over half of dentists in England (50.3%) report having reduced their NHS commitment since the start of the pandemic – by 27% on average. This movement is not tracked in official workforce data, which counts heads not commitment, and where dentists doing one NHS check-up a year carry the same weight as an NHS full timer.
The proportion of dentists now reporting their intention to reduce – or further reduce – the amount of NHS work they undertake this year stands at 74%.
43% indicate they are likely to go fully private. 42% say they are likely to change career, seek early retirement. Over 1 in 10 (12%) state they are likely to move to practice abroad.
This crisis, fuelled by failed contracts and underfunding, has left England facing the worst access crisis in the nation's history. Analysis undertaken by the BDA of government data indicates unmet need for dentistry in 2022 stood at over 11 million people, or almost one in four of England's adult population. Nearly six million tried and failed to get an appointment in the past two years, and 3.6 million did not try because they thought they could not secure an appointment. Those put off by cost are equivalent to over one million adults, those on waiting lists estimated at around 0.5 million. These figures exceed pre-pandemic norms by every measure. In 2019 unmet need sat at over 4 million people, or nearly one in ten adults.
www.bda.org

Half of dentists have cut back NHS work, with more to follow as crisis mounts

Unmet need for dentistry at record high – 1 in 4 of adult population in 2022.
www.bda.org www.bda.org
The British Dental Association (BDA) has called for urgent action on mouth cancer, stressing that dental access can be the ‘difference between life and death’.

The association cited new data which shows that there were 9,860 cases of mouth cancer in the UK in 2020/21. This was an increase of 12% from the previous year. Oral cancers also killed more than 3,000 people in 2021, which is 46% higher than the figure from a decade ago. As a result, mouth cancer causes more deaths than road collisions in the UK.

The BDA believes that the government must ‘act meaningfully’ to target the problem by improving dental access. It said: ‘Ongoing access problems will make a difference between life and death for some patients.’

dentistry.co.uk

Mouth cancer cases increase by 12%, new data shows - Dentistry

The British Dental Association (BDA) has called for urgent action on mouth cancer, stressing the 'difference between life and death'.
dentistry.co.uk dentistry.co.uk
 
hifinutt said:
would labour do any better to solve this mess ? anyone know their plans for NHS dentistry in this utter crisis ?
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They've committed to 700,000 extra appointments a year (so one between ten people roughly!) and free treatment "to those who most need it".

Hopefully a step in the right direction. But patients groups and health bodies seem underwhelmed and are saying it's far too little and won't restore universal dental healthcare.

There's also the regular claim from Labour that "there's no money" so we'll see what they actually manage to do I guess.
 
I don't understand at all why dentistry (and eye exams) are not considered routine health care. It's the same in the US - of course all of medicine is a private shit show here, but even when you qualify for government healthcare programs, either through poverty or upon reaching age 65 dental care is not covered.
As a previous poster said - this is what happens when people vote for right wing governments.
 
Somafunk said:
Who the **** on a normal wage have £3k lying around to spend, I think we should sort these tory ****ers out by knocking their teeth out. I baggsy having dibs on Gullis and Sunak
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Well I think endodontic surgery is just a joke in ordinary NHS surgeries, they don't have the equipment or the training to do it reliably. My NHS dentist once told me how much they get for it, and it was ludicrous -- I think she said about £40. The NHS does offer a solution though -- and it does it well I think. That solution is extraction.

@paulfromcamden £2K sounds a lot for a new root canal. Tell your friend to try my mate next time, even after paying for a crown he should be able to save a few hundred squid.

ayub-endo.co.uk

Ayub Endodontics

Endodontist Wimbledon, London
ayub-endo.co.uk ayub-endo.co.uk
 
This must be a location thing as I successfully registered with three dental surgeries in my area with no problem, used all three and now just use the one I prefer, all NHS by the way.
 
Somafunk said:
Who the **** on a normal wage have £3k lying around to spend, I think we should sort these tory ****ers out by knocking their teeth out. I baggsy having dibs on Gullis and Sunak
Click to expand...
It's a lot for us. We're on a relatively modest income but have the advantage of savings. She was doubled over with the pain before I booked the appointment so not doing anything or shopping around just wasn't an option (and thankfully we have the money in the savings account).
 
mandryka said:
Well I think endodontic surgery is just a joke in ordinary NHS surgeries, they don't have the equipment or the training to do it reliably. My NHS dentist once told me how much they get for it, and it was ludicrous -- I think she said about £40. The NHS does offer a solution though -- and it does it well I think. That solution is extraction.

@paulfromcamden £2K sounds a lot for a new root canal. Tell your friend to try my mate next time, even after paying for a crown he should be able to save a few hundred squid.

ayub-endo.co.uk

Ayub Endodontics

Endodontist Wimbledon, London
ayub-endo.co.uk ayub-endo.co.uk
Click to expand...
Thanks. I've been asking around locally as I have a bust molar that I should really get looked at...
 
mandryka said:
The NHS does offer a solution though -- and it does it well I think. That solution is extraction.
Click to expand...

Not always, Ive had two root canal's done in the past 3 years on the nhs, one on my front teeth of which 3 are capped due to knocking one out and breaking the other front tooth, they had to drill through the cap into the one tooth with a root and I‘ve had a rear molar root canal done two years ago, all on nhs with no bill but I live in Scotland if that makes any differenc.
 
garyi said:
Our dentist wrote to us earlier in the year to say we were out and had to start paying now. Not great.
Click to expand...
I had that very letter just a few days ago. I don't think there's another NHS dentist in town and if there is I'm positive they'd not be taking anyone new on.
 
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