NHS dental changes 'force patients to go private'

LONDON - Dental patients are being forced to go private, prompting many to go without treatment or even fix their teeth at home because of NHS changes last year, according to a survey.

A quarter of 5,200 patients polled across England said they had gone private but nearly 80 percent of that quarter said that was only because their dentist had stopped treating NHS patients or because they could not find an NHS dentist.

Another 10 percent were not registered with any dental surgery while six percent of patients said they had taken matters into their own hands.

One respondent from Lancashire told the survey: "Fourteen teeth have had to be removed by myself with pliers."

Another had temporarily fixed a broken crown with superglue.

The survey, conducted between July and September, also questioned 750 dentists, of whom 45 percent said they were not accepting any more NHS patients.

More than half of the dentists (58 percent) said the quality of care received by patients had got worse since the new contract came into force in April last year.

"These findings indicated that the NHS dental system is letting many patients down very badly," said Sharon Grant, Chair of the Commission for Patient and Public Involvement in Health, which organised the survey.

"It appears many are being forced to go private because they don't want to lose their current trusted and respected dentist or because they just can't find a local NHS dentist," she said.

The British Dental Association (BDA) said the survey highlighted significant problems caused by the new system, which offers dentists a guaranteed income rather than being paid for each NHS treatment they perform.

"The new contract has done nothing to improve access for patients and failed to allow dentists to deliver the kind of modern, preventive treatment they want to give," said BDA Executive Board Chair Susie Sanderson.

The government acknowledged there were problems in accessing NHS dental care but said the report was unrepresentative.

"This survey reflects a very narrow view of NHS dentistry which is at odds with the picture we have," said a Department of Health spokeswoman.

She said 28.1 million people saw an NHS dentist at least once every two years and 21,000 dentists were providing NHS services.

"We know that patients in some areas still face difficulties and that there is more to do, but the NHS now has the foundations on which to build more high quality local services."

Before the new contract began there were two million people who wished to access NHS dental care who were unable to do so, according to government estimates.