NHS dentistry ‘all-but finished’ as shock eight in ten practices shut lists to new patients
NHS dentistry is all-but finished, experts warn, as figures show eight in ten practices have shut their lists to new patients.
Just 857 out of 4,969 NHS-registered dentists are taking on adult patients, Labour analysis reveals.
Two-thirds are even refusing to help children, it also shows.
And in the South West, 99 per cent have closed their lists.
It chimes with a report from the Nuffield Trust which found patients had nearly six million fewer NHS treatments last year than they did in 2019.
The think tank said: “NHS dentistry has likely gone for good.
“This has been driven by decades of policy neglect and a drift to the private sector, which has not been resisted by Governments of any colour.”
The reports confirm a real-terms drop in NHS funding for dentistry, meaning many people skip check-ups and treatment or resort to brutal DIY remedies.
The health service paid for 32.5m procedures such as fillings and crowns, compared to 38.4m four years ago.
Statistics show just 40 per cent of Brits have had a check-up in the past two years and only 53 per cent of children have been seen in the past year.
Shadow health secretary Wes Streeting said: “The NHS dentistry service is barely worthy of the name.
“Those who can afford it will go private and those who can’t will be left with a poor service for poor people.”
Labour said that, if elected, it will fund 700,000 more NHS appointments using non-dom tax cash and offer dentists more to work in the worst affected areas.