Dentists in Northern Ireland: Almost half of practises likely to drop all NHS patients due to rising costs, says British Dental Association (BDA)

The reason given is because state payments for treatment are not keeping track with the rising costs of the businesses.

The news comes after a survey by the British Dental Association (BDA).

Speaking at Stormont yesterday, a BDA delegation warned MLAs that “NHS dentistry is in its final days in Northern Ireland”.

Ciara Gallagher, chair of the British Dental Association's Northern Ireland Dental Practice Committee, said: “NHS dentistry in Northern Ireland is on its knees, and the amalgam ban (ban on silver fillings) could be the final blow.

“Dentists have told us they are working in what feels like the final days of this service. Delivering health service care at a loss and developing private work simply to break even.

“None of this is inevitable. A restored Stormont has the power to ensure NHS dentistry can once again stand on its own two feet. If it doesn’t, this service will die.”

The BDA appealed to the restored executive to throw the service a lifeline, protect it from the hammer blow of the ban on amalgam fillings, and rapidly roll out changes to the payment model followed by Scotland.

It said a “devastating survey” of 279 high street dentists in Northern Ireland reveals:

​l 49% of dentists in NI say they are likely to go fully private;

​l 75% have reduced their NHS commitment since lockdown – by an average of a quarter;

​l 88% now say they intend to reduce – or further reduce – that commitment in the year ahead;

​l 97% say costs to provide NHS care have increased;

​l Fewer than 1 in 10 (8%) believe the Department of Health has acted to adequately mitigate these costs;

​l 97% say increased costs are putting NHS dentistry at their practices at risk.

​Without the Stormont Brake being applied, an EU ban on dental amalgam (silver fillings) is expected from January 1 2025, the BDA said.

Without mitigations being put in place by the Department of Health, 92% say it will reduce the amount of NHS activity at their practice.

The survey found 86% say authorities in NI should move to roll out similar changes to the current low margin/high volume contractual framework that was rolled out in Scotland in November, which aimed to better reflect the costs of care.

The Department of Health said it has invested an additional £88.1m in general dental services since April 2020, but that the investment came to an end in July 2023 “due to the severe financial pressures arising from the Department’s 2023/24 budget settlement".

A DoH spokeswoman said the department is developing contingency plans to ensure that any changes, if they are unavoidable, can be implemented as seamlessly as possible.

She also said there is concerned about "the impacts and disruption it will cause for practices and patients in an already difficult clinical environment”.