British Dental Association survey paints grim future for UK dentistry

Standards of dental care in the UK could become the shame of Europe within one generation, warns one of the UK's leading health insurers.

Bill Gaywood, Chief Executive of Medicash has issued the warning as new research from the British Dental Association (BDA) reveals that up to 1 million people in the UK are still without a dentist - 7 months after the NHS contractual problems came to a head.

Over 2,000 dentists walked away from the NHS after refusing to sign new contracts in April, leaving up to 1m patients without dental cover - a figure which has not reduced since.

Mr Gaywood said: "Since April this year over 1 million people in the UK have not had access to a dentist - with the cost of treatments a major contributory factor to the problem."

The survey of 650 dentists by the Survey found 78% of dentists had not recorded an increase in patients since the contract came into force. The survey also found that over 62% of dentists did not expect to be able to treat more patients in the future, with a further 20% being unclear as to how many patients they would be able to see.

Mr Gaywood said: "Some Primary Care Trusts believed that the new contract would provide a universal service for children and adults but it also means additional costs. It is important that the cost does not stand in the way of effective dental care - otherwise we will revert to the provision of dental care only to those with enough cash to pay for it.

"If this scenario is to continue we could see a quick return to the poor dental standards of the pre-NHS years for a great many people in this country."

Medicash, one of the UK's leading health insurers is offering a solution to people who are worried about the financial pain of having to go private because of a lack of NHS dentists. From only £12 per month, Medicash Essentials will make payments towards the cost of dental treatments such as checkups, fillings and extractions. Anyone between the ages of 16 and 65 can buy Medicash Essentials and dependent children under the age of 18 will be covered free for many benefits including dentistry.

"A healthcare cash plan is one way of tackling the problem by paying towards the cost of dental treatment, and by allowing parents to ensure the continuity of essential treatment for children as well as themselves" said Mr Gaywood.

For example a couple paying into the plan can claim up to £120 per child for dental treatments and up to £240 per year for themselves.