- Just under a quarter (24%) of patients who tried to get an NHS dental appointment in the last 2 years were unable to do so
- ‘Dental deserts’ forcing employers to integrate oral health into employee benefits offering
The NHS England GP Patient Survey 20241 has laid bare the extent of the NHS dental crisis in England.
Analysis of the England-wide survey conducted among patients aged 16 or over registered with a GP practice in England discovered a widespread lack of availability of NHS dental services.
The analysis from Broadstone, a leading independent pensions, investment, employee benefits and insurance consultancy, found that nearly one-in-four (24%) people - or 6.2 million people when extrapolated against ONS population estimates2 - who tried to get an NHS dental appointment in the last two years were unable to get one.
When this group were asked why they failed to get one, the majority (42%) said that the dentist was not taking new patients and a further third (36%) said there were no appointments available.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, three-in-10 patients (28%) had never tried to get an NHS dental appointment while a further fifth (20%) last tried to get an appointment more than two years ago.
When offering their reasoning behind this, the most common answer was that patients preferred going to a private dentist (27%) with a quarter (25%) stating that they didn’t try because they didn’t think they would be able to actually get an appointment.
The survey comes just a few days after the new Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, Wes Streeting, announced a major independent investigation into the performance of the NHS.
The new cabinet minister also mentioned his discussions with the British Dental Association to deliver 700,000 extra emergency dentistry appointments and reform the existing dental contract.
Brett Hill, Head of Health & Protection at Broadstone, said: “As a new Labour administration takes power, these figures are yet another illustration of the crisis in public access to crucial primary care services like dentistry.
“Oral health is a key pillar of general health with dental problems posing a risk to wider health, from loss of sleep and heightened physical and mental stress to increasing the likelihood of more severe conditions like cardiovascular disease.
“Not only can this create severe pain and anxiety on a daily basis, but it can also threaten people’s ability to work productively, particularly if issues are left undiagnosed and untreated.
“Given the alarming proportion of people who are trying to receive dental care and failing, it’s no wonder that we are seeing individuals increasingly opt for private dental services.
“With ‘dental deserts’ becoming more common and a surge in demand for private dental care, employers are increasingly incorporating dental benefits within their healthcare benefits strategy.
“Of those businesses that are yet to do so, over a third (34%) are either considering or definitely introducing dental insurance over the next three years according to our latest Employee Benefits Survey3, demonstrating that demand is only likely to grow.”
“While Wes Streeting has confirmed an independent investigation into the NHS, recognising the key role that businesses can play in alleviating pressures on NHS services and introducing incentives for employers to expand their efforts to sustain the health of their staff, would be a major step forward in improving the health of the UK workforce, and the UK economy.”