Patients’ anger at newest NHS dentist costs hikes as 40,000 individuals signal Mirror petition

The British Dental Association has released new analysis showing how struggling that from next week, families will be again asked to pay more towards NHS dentistry – so government can pay less

Patients have told of their anger at the latest hike in NHS dental charges to disguise “stealth cuts” to the service” The British Dental Association has released new analysis showing how struggling families will be again asked to pay more, so government can pay less.

From next Tuesday, patient charges will be almost two thirds higher than they were back in 2010 with a check up rising from £16.50 to £27.40. Had government contributions increased at the same rate the total budget would now be close to £4.5billion – which the BDA calculates would tackle the crisis and restore access for millions to an NHS dentist.

As it is the NHS dental budget has been held at £3 billion which the BDA calculates is only enough to care for around half the population of England and has meant a £1 billion real terms cut due to inflation.

Patients are being asked to pay an ever greater share of the overall NHS dentistry budget and the Mirror has launched an online petition demanding the latest planned rise from April 1 to be scrapped. From today 40,000 people have signed up with many leaving comments telling of their anger.

One said: “For the prices to go up for most people who cannot afford it who over the last few years have been pulling out their own teeth. This is ridiculous.” Anne C said: “Dental care is healthcare which is meant to be free at point of use. Investment in NHS dentistry makes financial sense as it will prevent more admissions to hospital for dental work including children.”

Stuart S said: “Dental services have been removed from the NHS by stealth. I’m in my 70s and I remember a different time when service was far better.”

The BDA stress pressure from the Treasury is the reason why a Band 3 treatment like dentures or a crown will cost £326.70 from April, or over £128.70 more than they did in 2010. While Wales introduced record-breaking increases in charge levels last year, the cost of identical treatments is still £66.70 less there for a Band 3, at just £260.

Shiv Pabary, chair of the BDA’s General Dental Practice Committee, said: “Had past Governments increased funding at the same rate they ramped up charges, there would be an extra £1.5bn in the pot, and a basis for universal access. Chancellors may claim ‘we are all in this together’, but this is the reality for NHS dentistry. If this service is going to have a future, Rachel Reeves needs to put down George Osborne ’s playbook.”

The BDA says lack of any increase in the total NHS dentistry budget means there is no reason patient charges should even have gone up by inflation. Charges don’t go to dentists to allow them to treat more patients and the dentists’ professional body has accused the Treasury of presiding over a long-term strategy of stealth cuts by using hikes in charges to conceal reductions in state spending.

From next week people who need basic care such as check-ups or X-rays will pay £27.40, up from the current charge of £26.80. Band 2 care, which includes fillings, tooth extraction or root canal treatment, will cost £75.30 from next week, up from £73.50 now.

The Mirror has launched the Dentists for All campaign to fix the broken system which has left people unable to get an NHS dentist forced to pull out their own teeth or go into debt to go private. We have partnered with the BDA and campaigning platform 38 Degrees to launch the petition calling for the hike to be abandoned and urging ministers to come up with an alternative funding plan for NHS dentistry.

Labour have vowed to tackle the “flawed” NHS dental contract but the BDA says it has made “no progress” since entering government last year. The contract pays dentists the same amount for three fillings as 20 but cannot be substantially changed without a commitment from the Treasury to boost funding accordingly.

Matthew McGregor, chief executive at 38 Degrees, said: “This is simply further proof that instead of hiking dental prices for struggling families, the Government needs a proper plan to fix NHS dentistry, and to stump up the investment to make it a reality. The government may have inherited this mess, but it is now their responsibility to fix – which is why hundreds of thousands of members of the public have joined the campaign to save NHS dentistry. It’s time for urgent action from government ministers.”

It comes after the Government fulfilled manifesto commitments and announced supervised toothbrushing programmes at schools. It has also instructed the NHS to provide 700,000 extra urgent dental appointments from next month for people living in pain. However the BDA says these will go only a small way to tackling unmet dental need as 19 out of 20 dental surgeries are not taking on new adult NHS patients.

A spokeswoman for the Department of Health and Social Care said: “NHS dentistry has been left broken by years of neglect, but we will deliver fundamental reform to get the sector back on its feet. We are rolling out an extra 700,000 urgent appointments and overhauling the dental contract to encourage more dentists to offer NHS services. In previous years, dental patient charges increased above inflation levels – this is not the case this year. Almost half of all patients can get free dental care on the NHS – including children, those on low incomes and pregnant women.”

Lack of dentists means practices are unable to hit their planned number of units of dental activity (UDAs) under the NHS dental contract. Practices are then fined tens of thousands of pounds. This has meant almost a third of the NHS dental budget is having to be returned as “underspends” in some areas – despite their being huge unmet need for dental care. These fines then make it harder for practices to fund recruitment of more dentists and encourages practices to move into more lucrative private work.

In England free NHS dental treatment is available to individuals under 18, those under 19 in full-time education, pregnant women, and those who have had a baby in the last 12 months, as well as those receiving certain benefits or who are dependents of someone receiving benefits. Click HERE to see if you are eligible.