The British Dental Association (BDA) Scotland has responded to research from the BBC that suggests six Scottish council areas are now ‘dental deserts’. It added that no practices can take on adult NHS patients within three months.

Reform to the low margin/high volume model NHS dentists worked to was rolled out in November 2023.

David McColl, chair of the BDA’s Scottish Dental Practice Committee, said, “The Scottish government delivered needed reform, but we have been clear this can’t be the end of the road.

“The simple facts are many patients are unable to access NHS care, while practices have vacancies they can’t fill. It’s two sides of the same coin.”

A BDA poll published in July 2024 revealed that two-thirds (66 per cent) of respondents said the system represented an improvement on the previous model, but nine in 10 (88 per cent) said it could not be the final destination for NHS dentistry.

Only 22 per cent said the system enabled a move to a preventive model of care. Only seven per cent believed it would enhance access for NHS patients, and just five per cent said it would support a reduction in oral health inequality.

David said, “Scotland needs a 21st century service in which dentists would choose to build a career. Ready to shift the focus from treatment to prevention.”

A Scottish government spokesperson said, “Almost one year on from dental payment reform, NHS dental services are responding well to the changes with the latest figures showing that over 1m courses of treatment were delivered to patients in the quarter ending June 2024. We also remain clear that while payment reform is the biggest change to dentistry in Scotland in a generation, this must be the first step in ensuring sustainability of our dental services.

“We recognise that in some areas, particularly rural areas, access to dental services remains more challenging. We continue to make available a range of additional financial support locally and this has enabled a newly opened surgery in a Dumfries and Galloway practice to see an additional 500 NHS patients since August 2024 and register another 1,500 patients.

They added, “We are also urgently engaging with our counterparts across the UK on the actions required to enhance access to services through increased dental workforce capacity, including improved international pipelines.”

Author: