Rising NHS Dental Charges ‘risk pricing patients out of care’ MP warns

Tiverton & Honiton MP Richard Foord has warned that the increasing cost of NHS dental fees across England will see patients across Devon priced out of essential care and fuel a rise in damaging ‘DIY Dentistry’.

From this week, the price NHS dental services across England will rise by 8.5%. This hike will see the cost of key treatments, such as bridges, crowns or dentures rise to £306.80 - compared to £203.00 for the same treatment in Wales.

Recent polling conducted on behalf of the British Dental Association has shown that 1-in-4 adults across England have already delayed or avoided needed care due to being unable to afford the cost, with concerns that this newest price rise will only further inflame this crisis.

Liberal Democrat MP Richard Foord has previously voiced concern about the growing level of DIY Dentistry, which sees people remove their own teeth at home, due to being unable to get an NHS dental appointment or afford the cost of care.

He has previously urged the Government to do more to boost the number of dental services available in rural areas by reforming the NHS dental contract, to properly pay dentists who take on NHS patients, and bring forward a proper workforce plan to recruit a new wave of dentists.

Richard Foord said:
“This new price hike is a blow for patients, who risk being priced out of what little NHS dental care remains due to the rising cost of NHS treatment.

“People’s oral health is so important, yet local dental services have been in decay for years. Many people are simply unable to get an NHS appointment – instead being forced to travel huge distances to find a dentist accepting new NHS patients or being left to fork-out huge sums for private dental work.

“The fact that people here in Devon now pay more than £100 more than people in other parts of the UK for the same NHS treatment is a scandal. This highlights just how much Ministers have neglected this issue.

“For months I’ve been calling for reform of the NHS dental contract to pay dentists properly for NHS work and enabling them to take on more patients. Yet instead of taking this proactive step, this Conservative Government has chosen to sit on their hands.

“The Government must stop the chronic underfunding of frontline dentistry services, reform the NHS dental contract to boost the number of appointments, and come clean about why people in Devon are paying more for less.”