Pay or stick it out? Annette's dentistry dilemma
Annette's is one such story. She faced hard decisions about her dental care, and her experience highlights why fundamental reform of NHS dentistry is needed to make it more accessible and affordable.
Annette, 65, lives in Shropshire.
Annette used to have an NHS dentist. However, in 2021 she contacted her surgery to schedule a routine appointment. The surgery said that because she hadn’t been in contact with them for a long time that she’d been struck off of their list of regular NHS patients, even though Annette was avoiding the dentist because it was the height of the pandemic.
Dentists don’t have an obligation to keep NHS patients on permanently in the same way as NHS GPs do.
Meanwhile, Annette has a molar that has broken in half, but she can’t find a dentist in her county that is taking on new NHS patients. She’s joined three waiting lists, but all of the practices she’s contacted say she’s likely to have to wait for a long time before an NHS spot becomes available.
“I can only see a private dentist, which I don’t want to do, because it’s expensive,” Annette says. “But I’ve had the broken tooth for four months now, and I’m worried that it might cause an infection and could affect my health.”
“I feel that NHS dentistry should be available to people who can’t afford it. I think the NHS is marvellous and we should keep funding it.
“I’m hanging on (for an NHS dentist) until my tooth desperately has to come out, but unfortunately I do think that I’ll have to get private care eventually.”
What needs to change?
Last November, we published new research to highlight to the Government and the NHS why dental care reform is needed to make it more accessible and affordable.
The steps we've called for include:
- NHS dentistry should be reformed to give everyone a GP-style right to be permanently registered with a dental practice to get both preventative and urgent care throughout their lifetime.
- Dental practices should clearly communicate to people what they need to do to be maintained as an NHS patient.
- Public awareness of how the NHS dental system works should be improved, to help people consider or plan for alternative sources of care if their practice chooses to stop treating NHS patients.
- More information should be promoted to the public about help with NHS dental charges, such as exemption categories or the NHS Low Income Scheme.
- The NHS should clearly indicate how people can get urgent care via NHS 111 if they don’t have a regular NHS dentist.
