Patients are paying for “stealth cuts” in England’s dental budget, with NHS charges for treatment increasing by around 45% in the past decade while government spending has been cut in real terms, a new analysis reveals.
Increases of 4% on NHS dental fees will be implemented next month, with patients now footing the bill for about a quarter of the £3bn dental budget.
Dentists say there is a £1.5bn “black hole” in NHS funding because the government contribution has not kept pace with rises in patient charges. Shawn Charlwood, chair of the British Dental Association’s general dental practice committee, said: “Our patients have had to pay the price for stealth cuts with no equal rise in NHS funding. Officials have bled this service dry.”
The BDA, the trade union and professional body for dentists, will this week give evidence to the parliamentary health and social care select committee about the impact of underfunding on dentistry. The association says many patients delay or go without treatment because of the costs.
Dentistry is in crisis in many parts of England, with many patients unable to find an NHS dentist. The government last month announced a recovery plan, offering incentives to dentists to take on more NHS patients.
An analysis of NHS dental charges shows band 1 charges, including a check-up, diagnosis and preventive care, have risen from £18.50 in April 2014 to £26.80 from 1 April this year, an increase of nearly 45%. Band 2 charges, including fillings and extractions, have risen over the same period from £50.50 to £73.50, an increase of more than 45%.
From 2014-15 to 2022-23 (the most recent year available), the net government spend on the dental budget went up from £2.03bn to £2.15bn, an increase of about 6%. The BDA says if the government contribution since 2010 had kept pace with patient charges, the total dental budget would be more than £4.5bn.
BDA officials warn the cuts in the budget have had a profound impact on patients. They also consider the £200m announced for the new dental recovery plan is not new money, but is based on recycling funds in existing budgets.
Louise Ansari, chief executive at Healthwatch England, the health and social care champion for the country, said: “It is disappointing that the government decided to increase dental charges this year, despite the fact that last year’s rise of 8.5% was the highest on record. “NHS dentistry needs fundamental reform to increase and attract more dentists, reduce the cost of dental treatment and improve access for everyone.”
Ansari said that a lack of access to dental care placed burdens on other parts of the NHS, with tooth extraction now the top cause of hospital admission in children aged between six and 10 years.
Results from a tracker poll commissioned in January by Healthwatch England found about one in five people (21%) avoided going to the dentist because of the cost of dental treatment. Healthwatch England says dentistry continues to be one of the main concerns reported to it, with large areas of the population struggling to find a dentist who takes on NHS patients.
A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: “Over 47 per cent of people are eligible for free dental care. Last year the NHS delivered over 15.4 million courses of free treatment under these exemptions, including to children, those on low incomes and pregnant women. Our new dental recovery plan is backed by £200m and will create 2.5 million more dental appointments this year by offering cash incentives to dentists taking on new NHS patients and golden hellos of up to £20,000 to encourage dentists to work in underserved areas.”
