The British Dental Association has responded to new figures from the Scottish Liberal Democrats warning the oral health gap between rich and poor children will widen, given ongoing access problems, and the growing exodus from a broken NHS system.
Official data from Public Health Scotland has already shown the fall in participation is hitting those in most deprived communities the most. In September 2008, the gap in child participation between the most and least deprived areas was three percentage points; this had increased to seven percentage points by 2010, eighteen percentage points (55.3% compared to 73.1%) in September 2021. The figure now stands at twenty percentage points (55.9% compared with 75.8%).
The BDA has warned that lower levels of participation will inevitably translate into a higher dental disease burden, with deep oral health inequalities expected to widen even further given the cumulative impact of limited access to services, the temporary suspension of public health programmes, and the impact of lockdown diets. Lower participation will reduce the chance of picking up early signs of decay at routine check-ups, and delays in treatment will mean higher costs to the NHS and worse outcomes for young patients.
The professional body has stressed that reform to the broken low margin/high volume model the service works to are now essential, and that a new model has been pledged for rollout in the autumn. At present certain key treatments can be delivered at a financial loss, accelerating the exodus from the service. A recent BDA survey showed over half (59%) of high street NHS dentist reported having reduced the amount of NHS work they did since lockdown. Over four in five (83%) said they plan to reduce or further reduce their NHS commitment in the year ahead.
The BDA says that the future of the service hinges on reform providing it with firm foundations, with a decent, sustainable model that can deliver for patients and dentists across Scotland.
David McColl, Chair of the British Dental Association’s Scottish Dental Practice Committee said: “The oral health gap between rich and poor kids is set to widen.
“It’s a national scandal. Prevention is better than cure, but dentists are losing the chance to nip problems in the bud. The growing exodus from the NHS may make that permanent.
“Tooth decay is already the number one reason for hospital admissions among young children. It will take real reform to bring this service back from the brink.”