An independent Scottish dental group has taken steps to help with the dental access crisis by opening half of its practices to new NHS patients.

Infinityblu Dental Care and Implant Clinic has opted to open lists for patients in six of its practices.

The news comes in advance of the opening of its flagship five-surgery practice in Perth in 2025, which will become the 13th Infinityblu practice in Scotland.

The group said struggles in NHS dentistry in Scotland have been well documented, making this move a noteworthy step within the sector. It aims to help thousands of families access NHS dentistry.

A BBC investigation in 2022 found that four out of five Scottish dental firms were no longer accepting new NHS adult patients, with nearly 80 per cent rejecting new child patients.

Chris Barrowman, the group’s founder, said the decision demonstrated the business’ commitment to providing access for all budgets, ensuring standards of care for all, whether NHS, private or plan patients.

He said, “We have talked about this for some time now. We wanted to ensure we had the capacity and flexibility to be able to make this move, which is against the grain of most Scottish dental practices, and provide NHS dental care across the business, plus ensure our dentists and teams were fully supportive of the move.”

At Holyrood in February 2024, Willie Rennie, MSP for northeast Fife, led a debate on the ‘crisis in NHS dentistry’, with several local authorities having reported year-long waiting lists for patients or no local services at all.

However, according to Infinityblu, by creating greater flexibility and capacity across its expanding network of practices, they have opted to cement its commitment to NHS dental services by opening new patient lists for adults and children.

The openings have been made available for individuals at the group’s practices in Dunkeld, Auchterarder, Killin in Perthshire, and Peebles in the Scottish Borders.

New patients under the age of 26 will also be offered NHS registration in its Callander practice.

Chris added, “For us, it has always been about patient care. While we have always been committed to providing NHS dental services where possible, there was no advantage in having people sitting on long waiting lists not getting the care they deserve, or having to wait a considerable time for treatment that then develops into a larger and more costly problem.

“Thankfully we now have that capacity within the business to open-up for new patients, knowing they will get the standard of service we want to deliver, and I want Infinityblu to play a large part of bringing NHS dentistry to thousands more Scottish patients.”

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