Great British Oral Health Report confirms the need for levelling up access to NHS dentistry

The Great British Oral Health Report, published today by ADG member {my}dentist has confirmed again the need for the Government to “level up” access to NHS dentistry.

The survey work finds that 58% of the public believe that getting access to NHS dentistry has become more difficult over the past decade with 40% saying it is “much more difficult”.

The report also shows a growing North/South divide identified by the ADG here, in particular tooth decay amongst 5 year olds varying across regions from 18% in the South East to 32% in the North West.

Neil Carmichael, Chair of the ADG welcomed the report, saying: “The Great British Oral Health report shows widening inequalities between the North and South of England and that constituents in “red wall” constituencies are crying out for better access to NHS dentistry.”

“The solution is simple – we need more dentists. We are calling on the Government to launch an army style recruitment campaign to attract more people into the profession from both home and abroad  otherwise we are going to see more “dental deserts” in many parts of the country .”

Tom Riall, Chief Executive of {my}dentist, said: “Despite the heroic hard work of dentists, millions of patients are struggling to access the care they need.  There is a growing workforce shortage, NHS dentists are facing increasing pressures, and many are considering leaving the profession altogether.

“We need action now to support NHS dentists and to fix the dental workforce{ crisis once and for all.  Without this, the problem will only get worse – more patients will be left in unnecessary pain and discomfort, dental decay will go untreated, and vital oral cancer diagnoses will be missed.”

The Great British Oral Health Report is published by ADG member {my} dentist here.

“Smiles at Sea” is levelling up in action, creating healthier happier communities

Neil Carmichael, Chair of the Association of Dental Groups (ADG), has hailed the “Smiles at Sea” harbourside tour of Cornwall and Devon as an example of “levelling up health” in action and called on the Government to look to support more outreach programmes in reforming NHS dentistry.

Joining the “Smiles at Sea” tour on its stop at Brixham Harbour in Devon on Friday 8th October, Neil said: “Good health enables an individual to participate fully in society and must be a part of levelling up the UK.  There is a crisis in access to dentistry in our rural and coastal communities which will only be solved by two actions – reforming NHS dentistry to enable more work such as “Smiles at Sea” to be delivered and recruiting more dentists to the parts of the country where they are most needed .  Government must provide incentives for NHS dentists to move to areas with poorer access to dentistry such as Cornwall.”

Smiles at Sea is an award-winning programme having won Best Outreach or Charity Initiative in the national Dental Awards 2019 and shortlisted as Project of the Year in the Third Sector Business Charity Awards 2020.  This year it is being entirely funded by Smile Together and delivered in partnership with The Fisherman’s Mission and Healthy Cornwall.

Fisherfolk and their families have been offered free dental checks, emergency treatment and oral cancer screening in four fishing ports across Cornwall and Devon all this week thanks to Smile Together Dental CIC. Treatments will relieve any immediate dental problems including simple tooth extraction, permanent fillings and scale and polish with referrals through NHS routes where more complex oral surgery is required.

The ADG is calling for Government incentives for NHS dentists to move to areas with poorer access to dentistry along the South Coast including Cornwall, the Isle of Wight and Portsmouth, but also the Yorkshire and Lincolnshire coastlines.

ADG welcomes Advancing Dental Care report – but there is an “elephant in the room”

The Association of Dental Groups has welcomed the publication of the Health Education England (HEE) Advancing Dental Care report

Sandra White, ADG Clinical Director said: ”The engagement with key partners over the last three years is evident in the identification of key themes around flexible training, skill mix, continued learning, innovation, new routes into dental careers and an ambition to achieve equitable distribution of training places.

It is encouraging to see the work will progress over the next 4 years with the Dental Education Reform Programme and the recognition that partnership working will be critical for successful reform. ADG look forward to working with HEE to help improve dental careers which will benefit dental staff and ultimately also their patients.”

However, Neil Carmichael, Chair of the ADG warned: “Whilst we welcome many of the report recommendations, in particular the need to streamline the cumbersome Performer List Validation by Experience (PLVE) and the concept of Centres for Dental Development to improve the dental workforce in certain areas of the country, the crisis in recruitment and retention of the NHS dental workforce is a present danger which will require other partners to take action.”

“As the report notes, this includes the “ongoing work to reform the 2006 NHS dental contract. Over 950 dentists quit NHS work in the year 2020-21 according to recent NHS figures and our members are telling us that one of the key reasons for this is that the current ways of working in the NHS dental contract are unfit for purpose. NHS England need to tackle this elephant in the room to ensure retention of the future workforce in NHS dentistry.”

New figures show workforce crisis as number of NHS dentists fall across the whole of England

The Association of Dental Groups has responded to the publication of the Annual Report of NHS Dental Statistics for England 2020-2021 this week. 

The statistics reveal that overall, the number of dentists with NHS activity in England fell sharply to 23,733 –  a decrease of 951 on the previous year. 

All NHS regions in England saw dentist numbers fall in 2020-21.

At four NHS clinical commissioning groups, Portsmouth, West Suffolk, Bolton and Barnsley dentist numbers declined by 20% or more from the previous year. 

Neil Carmichael, Chair of the ADG, said: “These figures are the latest proof that the number of dentists working in the NHS is plummeting in many of the areas where they are most needed.  

“A perfect storm of a broken NHS contract, stressful working conditions during the pandemic and the consequence of Brexit means that now across the whole of England, dentists are leaving the NHS. 

“The workforce crisis we have warned of is now present and nationwide.  That’s why we urgently need to permanently increase the pipeline of new dental training places in the UK whilst also making it easier for overseas professionals to enter UK dentistry.”

Dr Sandra White joins ADG as new Clinical Director

The Association of Dental Groups (ADG) is pleased to welcome Dr Sandra White as its new Clinical Director, starting this month.

Until April this year Sandra was the national lead for dental public health at Public Health England (PHE), leading the team to improve oral health and reduce inequalities in England.  Much of her clinical career has been spent in Community Dental Services treating individuals with severe learning disability, medical and mental health problems. She is also a former President of the National Association for Prison Dentists UK.  Most recently she led on  the publication of the Inequalities in Oral Health in England report.

Neil Carmichael, Chair of the Association of Dental Groups (ADG) said: “The vision of the Association of Dental Groups, as the main representative of group providers is to use our collective knowledge and expertise to drive change and support good decision making by government for the ultimate benefit of patients and all dental professionals in the UK.

“One of our key objectives is to promote and encourage preventative oral healthcare, including reforming the dental contract to allow prevention to be delivered effectively. Sandra is a leading voice in the dental public health debate and we are delighted that she has agreed to join our team taking this work forward. I would like to thank our outgoing Clinical Director Richard Ablett, in particular for his leadership on flexible commissioning.  It is testament to his advocacy that flexible commissioning has been recognised as a key component of future contract reform and recovery of patient care following the pandemic.  Richard will continue to support us in an advisory role on commissioning in the next few months ahead which will be crucial for contract reform.”

Dr Sandra White said: “I am looking forward to working with the ADG to champion prevention in practice, support whole workforce development, and shine a positive light on our dental profession and the key role they play in the nation’s health and well-being.”

ADG: Government must face up to the workforce challenge to stop “dental deserts” in England

Neil Carmichael, Chair of the ADG has responded to the Healthwatch England report on dentistry the debate in the House of Commons on oral health and dentistry in England, both of which took place earlier this week:

“The two debates being held today in the House of Commons demonstrate that MPs from Bedford to Yorkshire and the Isle of Wight to Waveney know from their mailbags that many of their constituents still cannot get access to NHS care in a timely manner. Research by Public Health England and others confirms that these “dental deserts” are often in the most vulnerable and deprived communities.”

It was heartening to see the Opposition spokesman and Minister agree on the need for dental contract reform at pace. Many in the profession recognise that the Minister is committed to reforming the dental contract through flexible commissioning and we are ready to work with her to achieve this.

“However the Government must also face up to the challenge to recruit more dentists including those from overseas. As the minister said in the debate there are “dental deserts” in parts of England, and more practitioners are required with an “army style” recruitment strategy from Government to fill the vacancies in areas of greatest need.”

“I hope Healthwatch England’s report published yesterday will now focus the Government’s mind on the urgent need to reform NHS dentistry and address the recruitment crisis we now see emerging in many parts of the country.”

Healthwatch England’s report is published here.

Public Health England’s report on Inequalities in Oral Health in England is here.

ADG Chair welcomes new report calling for ‘’Armed Forces style” campaign to recruit more people into healthcare

Neil Carmichael, Chair of the Association of Dental Groups (ADG) has added his support to recommendations from a new report published today calling for a well-funded “Armed Forces” style recruitment campaign to inform and encourage people into the full range of healthcare careers, including dentistry.

The report also recommends that the Government’s central funds for “levelling up” should include a role for healthcare to reduce the nation’s regional health disparities.

Last month the publication of Public Health England’s report on “Oral health inequalities in England” revealed stark variations between regions in oral health and highlights an emerging “north/south” divide. Lying behind these inequalities is a growing recruitment crisis in the parts of the country that need NHS dentistry the most.

The ADG has already called for an increase in the number of UK training places for dentists and incentives for NHS dentists to move to areas with poorer access to dentistry such as Yorkshire and Lincolnshire coastlines, but also the South coast around the Isle of Wight, Portsmouth and in Cornwall. In the short term, overseas recruitment which makes up nearly a fifth of registered dentists, and mutual recognition of qualifications of overseas dentists should be streamlined.

Neil Carmichael, Chair of the ADG, said: “The Government has recognised the need to recruit more doctors and nurses, but we need more than this. As the NHS integrates care systems a long term workforce plan for the whole healthcare workforce is required; this report makes a strong case for a recruitment strategy.

“NHS dentistry provision is suffering from acute recruitment problems in many areas of the country the Government wishes to level up. Good health enables an individual to participate fully in society and must be a part of levelling up the UK. A national recruitment drive for the whole sector highlighting the opportunities in many parts of the country for those who want to make a difference is part of delivering this.”

The full report, The Economics of Health: How the healthcare sector can support the UK Economic recovery is available here.

Inequalities in oral health report confirms ‘’the urgent need to level up access to NHS dentistry” – ADG

The Association of Dental Groups has welcomed the publication of Public Health England’s report on “Oral health inequalities in England”. The report reveals stark variations between regions in oral health and highlights a clear “north/south” divide.

Standardised incidence of oral cancer was highest in the North West, North East and Yorkshire and Humber regions.

The report highlights relative inequalities in the prevalence of dental decay in 5 year old children in England and that these have increased from 2008 to 2019.

Prevalence of tooth decay in 5 year old children was highest in the North West and Yorkshire and Humber. This was repeated for 12 year olds.

Public Health England have also recommended water fluoridation as a whole population intervention as there is evidence that it reduces oral health inequalities with a greater benefit for those living in more deprived areas.

Neil Carmichael, Chair of the ADG, said: “This comprehensive report, the first time epidemiological data, NHS data and academic research has been brought together in this way casts a clear light on the oral health inequalities that still exist in England. What is more concerning is the emergence over the last decade of a clear “north/south” divide. The pandemic will have only exacerbated these inequalities. The Government has to address this as part of its commitment to “levelling up” the country.

“I am pleased with the government’s intention to act on water fluoridation which is recommended by the Public Health England report as reducing oral health inequalities in more deprived areas. We look forward to further recommendations from Public Health England on how to address inequalities. However we clearly have to increase access to NHS dentistry in much of the country. The current model of commissioning by UDA activity is not flexible enough to achieve this and in the same parts of the country where oral health is poor, recruitment of dentists is challenging. Addressing these issues will be part of the solution.”

Public Health England’s report on oral health inequalities in England is available here.

New figures show ‘’collapse in children’s dental visits as a consequence of the pandemic”

The Association of Dental Groups has responded to this morning’s publication of the latest NHS Dental Statistics Biannual report for England 2020-2021.

The statistics reveal that overall, 3.6 million children were seen by an NHS dentist in the 12 months up to 31st December 2020, which equates to 29.8% of the child population.

This compares to 7 million children seen by an NHS dentist in the 12 months up to 31st December 2019, which was 58.4% of the child population in the previous report demonstrating the dramatic effect of the pandemic on oral healthcare for children during 2020.

Neil Carmichael, Chair of the ADG, said: “Before lockdown, just under 60% of children had visited an NHS dentist in the 12 months to December 2019. The 1st lockdown when dentists were closed and subsequent constraints on activity has resulted in a dramatic collapse in child visits to their NHS dentist. “The fear is that dentists will now have their work cut out dealing with tooth decay among children and I know that many dentists have already raised their concerns about the future of children’s oral health. I would call on the Government to focus on addressing the backlog of oral healthcare for children as a priority in the year ahead. We need to take action now to prevent this unmet need translating into more hospital operations than ever to remove children’s teeth.”

The latest NHS dental statistics are available here.

ADG welcomes Government water fluoridation action plan

Neil Carmichael, Chair of the ADG, has welcomed the announcement today by the Secretary of State for Health of plans for “streamlining the process for the fluoridation of water in England by moving responsibilities for doing so from local authorities to central government,” as part of the NHS reforms in the White Paper published today.

Neil said: “This is a significant moment as water fluoridation is probably the single most important step any Government can take in protecting the country’s oral health.”

The Covid-19 pandemic and the cancellation of routine appointments, treatments and supervised toothbrushing programmes has highlighted the need more than ever for the introduction of preventative measures such as water fluoridation across the country.

Thousands of children could soon require hospital operations to remove unsavable teeth due to the pandemic. Before the pandemic, hospitals in England already carried out an average 177 operations a day on children and teenagers last year to remove teeth, costing the NHS more than £40m. It is estimated by the British Society of Paediatric Dentistry that water fluoridation could reduce this by as much as two thirds in the most deprived areas.

Neil Carmichael added: “It is widely accepted that water fluoridation is the most effective measure that can be taken to prevent dental disease. Only a tenth of the UK has access to fluoridated water showing that the previous approach was not working. We welcome the proposals outlined today as a clear resolution by the Government to take action on water fluoridation.”

“Moving a focus onto flexible commissioning and preventative measures is one way the Government can limit and recover the damage to the nation’s oral health in the future. Water fluoridation requires no behaviour change and the evidence shows it is highly effective. The next step must now be wider flexible commissioning of services to help those most in need.”