The British Dental Association (BDA) has called on government to urgently take down the barriers facing patients with dental problems, as new research reveals the struggles they face with cost and access.
Based on interviews with GP attenders, the study, published in the British Journal of General Practice, found issues around greater accessibility of GP services, previous experiences of dental care, including dental anxiety, and willingness and ability to pay for dental care.
Patients with urgent dental problems (including toothache and abscesses) typically require some form of operative intervention, which GPs are neither trained nor equipped to provide. These patients are usually referred on to a dentist. The study reports many respondents were simply unaware of the existence of emergency dental services.
The BDA estimate that the 380,000 GP consultations referenced in the study cost the NHS £20.8 million. Previous research has estimated 57% of all patients with dental problems are provided with antibiotics – which are not a cure for dental pain.
Nearly 1 in 5 patients have delayed treatment for reasons of cost according to official surveys. NHS Charges have increased by over 23% in the last five years, while the Government’s direct spend per head on NHS dentistry has fallen £4.95, from £40.95 to £36.
Dentist leaders had recently warned that low income patients are turning away from NHS dentistry, with official figures revealing a fall of two million treatments delivered to patients exempt from NHS charges since 2013/14 – a fall of 23% in 4 years – in the face of an increasing aggressive campaign on ‘misclaiming’ free dentistry. Access problems in NHS dentistry are becoming everyday across England, with patients in the South West facing up to 80 mile round trips to access services.
The BDA has repeatedly called on the Chief Dental Officer and NHS England to commission more in-hours urgent care slots to relieve pressure from dental patients on both GP and Accident and Emergency services, and to give NHS 111 staff a clear sense of which dental practices have capacity. Earlier studies from Newcastle University have estimated that 135,000 dental patients attend A&E per year at an annual cost of nearly £18 million.
The BDA’s Chair of General Dental Practice, Henrik Overgaard-Nielsen, said:
“Dental patients face growing barriers, from higher charges to longer journeys, where even those entitled to free care face the ever-present threat of fines for misclaiming. The result is millions are being wasted, and pressure piled on overstretched GPs who are simply unequipped to help.
“Ministers need to end the hostile environment many patients face, and ensure all those who need our care can access it.”
