22 March 2023

We risk losing “a generation of dentists”, says trade union chair

The British Dental Association told MPs that chronic sectoral neglect has led to severe workforce shortages in dentistry.

By Sarah Dawood

Access to NHS dental care has depleted. According to a BBC and British Dental Association (BDA) investigation last year, nine in ten NHS dentist practices are not accepting new adult patients, and eight in ten are not taking on children.

Speaking to the Health and Social Care Committee in parliament today, 22 March, dentists and industry representatives told MPs that undesirable working conditions and employment contracts had caused a severe workforce shortage, essentially making access to “free at the point of service” dentistry obsolete.

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Topics in this article : NHS , NHS crisis , NHS funding , pwfree

Sarah Dawood

@sarahdawood1

Sarah Dawood is senior associate editor of Spotlight, the New Statesman's specialist policy section. She writes on a range of areas, including health and social care, benefits and welfare, and online safety. She was formerly deputy editor at online magazine Design Week and has written for, amongst others, The Guardian and Raconteur.