As an NHS dentist in Ashton-under-Lyne, we know the service we offer is vital for most people, for whom the costs of going private can be prohibitively expensive, especially when an essential treatment like a filling can be needed.
Being able to access this is particularly important in an area like Greater Manchester with its population of millions, as that means high demand for dentistry. But around the country, many people find themselves travelling far and wide to find an NHS provider, or taking drastic DIY steps.
A recent BBC investigation found that most NHS practices are not currently taking on new patients, with some people resorting to pulling out their own teeth and others having to travel as much as 200 miles for NHS treatment.
This issue has gained plenty of attention in parliament, with a new report by the House of Commons Health and Social Care Committee calling the situation “totally unacceptable”.
Committee chair Steve Brine MP said: “Today we register in the strongest terms possible our concern for the future of NHS dental services and the patients who desperately need access to them.”
Around 200 local authorities have no NHS practices taking on new patients. This does not just include some rural counties with sparse populations like Norfolk or Devon, but also Lancashire and the city of Leeds.
The House of Commons report, which calls for dentistry sector restructuring ideas recommended to the government 15 years ago to be implemented, is the latest of many responses to the crisis, but so far all efforts made to tackle it have proved insufficient, not least as so many dental practices have gone private.
Welcoming the report, founder of the Toothless in England pressure group Mark Jones said: “The report’s findings show how far oral health care provision has fallen. We broadly welcome the report’s recommendations.”
However, he expressed concerns that a succession of governments have chosen to “disregard” recommendations for systemic reform of dentistry and expressed concern that the current one could do the same.