‘Dentistry crisis has reached tipping point’ British Dental Association Northern Ireland warns

The British Dental Association NI (BDA NI) said the “most extensive survey of patient access ever undertaken” has shown that 90% of dental practices are unable to offer appointments to new adult patients.

The BDA NI is now pressing the UK Government to “step up and deliver” urgent reform.

A BBC study, carried out between May and July this year, asked every UK dental practice with an NHS contract if they were willing to take on new patients.

The researchers found that 90% of NHS practices in Northern Ireland (246 of 274 were not accepting new adult patients.

Of those practices not taking on adults in Northern Ireland, 20% (48) said they had an open waiting list, and 11% (28) said the wait time was a year or longer, or were unable to say how long it would be.

It was also discovered that 88% of NHS dental practices were not accepting new child patients either (241 of 274).

Ciara Gallagher, chair of the BDA NI’s Dental Practice Committee, said: “We can only hope dental care in Northern Ireland had not yet reached the point of no return.

“Dentists are already moving on and practices are struggling to remain viable, because the numbers Health Service dentistry is based on simply don’t add up.

“This postcode lottery our patients now face will only end when we see real reform backed up by fair funding.”

The BDA NI said that health service dentists – who work as independent contractors – have seen their incomes “fall by 40% in real terms” since 2008/09, and that practices are confronting soaring costs, with “dental inflation” estimated at more than 11%.

The representative body also claims that many dentists now face the prospect of delivering Health Service care at a financial loss.

In a statement, BDA NI said it is “pressing for an end to the discredited high volume/low margin model the service has worked to 30 years.

It said the model “is no longer delivering for patients or the dental profession,” and “stressed a new system must ensure HS dentistry is financially sustainable in its own right, without being kept afloat by income from private work undertaken by practices”. The statement goes on to say: “Dentist leaders are pressing for interim support measures to be put in place until a new contract is implemented.

“A process has recently begun with the Department of Health to take forward work on a new contract for high street HS dentistry. However, there remains huge uncertainty about whether the level of investment needed for this service to survive will be forthcoming.”

Across the UK, the researchers did not reach any practices accepting new child NHS patients in 25 (12%) of the 217 local authorities.