Dental News - BDA: “Scotland’s huge oral health inequalities cannot be allowed to widen”

Brendan Day, Dental Tribune International

Wed. 17. March 2021

save

EDINBURGH, UK: The havoc wreaked by the COVID-19 pandemic across the world has meant that patient attendance levels at dental practices have dropped quite substantially since March 2020. Although government-mandated lockdowns have played a role in this outcome, new data released by Public Health Scotland has indicated that access to NHS dentistry services remains a point of concern in the country.

The statistics, released by the government agency on 23 February, provide an overview of NHS dental registrations and participation rates in Scotland between September 2000 and December 2020. Though the impact of the pandemic is yet to be fully realised, the number of adults seen by an NHS dentist between September and November 2020 was roughly one-third of the 2018–2019 monthly average—a figure that fell to 28% of the 2018–2019 average in December 2020.

Furthermore, the data demonstrated that, whereas 67.1% of adults from the least deprived areas of Scotland had seen their dentist within the last two years, this figure dropped to 55.9% for adults from the most deprived areas. A similar division existed between children in the least and most deprived areas as well, with 85.7% and 73.5%, respectively, having visited their dentist within the last two years.

According to Dr Robert Donald, chair of the British Dental Association’s (BDA) Scottish Council, these statistics “underline the scale of the challenge ahead”.

“Millions have missed out on dentistry. Problems that could have been caught early, from decay to oral cancer, have been missed,” he noted in a press release. “Scotland’s huge oral health inequalities cannot be allowed to widen. Every party, heading into May’s election, now has a responsibility to set out how they will ensure families across Scotland can get the care they need,” he continued.

Concerning issues abound in Scottish dentistry

Inequalities regarding oral health outcomes have been a recurring problem in Scotland for some time. The National Dental Inspection Programme 2018 showed that 86% of those children in Scotland’s least deprived areas had no obvious signs of decayed, missing or filled primary teeth. For those from the country’s poorest places, this figure was 56%.

Meanwhile, freedom of information requests placed by the Scottish Liberal Democrats in 2019 revealed waiting times of more than 120 weeks for inpatient oral and maxillofacial treatment, a length far beyond the 12-week target for surgery that the Scottish government was then aiming for.

These problematic trends have been compounded by the recent announcement that, since many final year dental students in Scotland will not be able to graduate this year owing to a lack of clinical experience, dental schools will not be accepting new students in September 2021.

Tags:

To post a reply please login or register

Pandemic exacerbates UK oral health inequalities

LONDON, UK: Researchers at University College London have highlighted the COVID-19 pandemic’s effect of having widened inequalities in oral health in the ...

Oral health inequalities remain a major public health concern in the UK

LONDON, UK: Despite being largely preventable, poor dental health continues to be a major public health issue in England. This is evident in a recent report...

Danes’ oral health has improved significantly but social inequalities persist, study says

COPENHAGEN, Denmark: In a recent study, researchers examined the dentate status and the frequency of preventive dental visits of Danish adults over a period...

Final chapter of World Oral Health Day to be launched at FDIWDC25

SHANGHAI, China: The launch of the campaign for World Oral Health Day (WOHD) 2026 will take place during the 2025 FDI World Dental Congress (FDIWDC25), ...

Dental health inequalities most apparent in young children

GOTHENBURG, Sweden: Despite the fact that the Swedish government has provided free dental care to children and young people for decades, research has shown ...

Californian dentists allowed to join COVID-19 vaccination effort

SACRAMENTO, Calif., U.S.: As a result of the Californian Dental Association’s (CDA) endeavors, dentists have been authorized to administer the COVID-19 ...

2024 ICD International Congress to champion oral health excellence

NEW YORK, US: The International College of Dentists (ICD) is excited to be returning to the Greater New York Dental Meeting (GNYDM) this year to celebrate ...

GC showcases innovations and commitment to global oral health

COLOGNE, Gemany: GC hosted an international press conference at the IDS just yesterday, on Tuesday morning. The one-hour event was moderated by Dr Virginie ...

Oral health study of dental students highlights wider demographic issues

TOKYO, Japan: Over the past few decades, Japan has put a tremendous amount of effort into improving the population’s oral health. However, in a recent ...

Infant discomfort may have a connection to maternal oral health

ALMADA, Portugal: Dental clinicians may be in a position to better support new mothers, according to researchers in Portugal who explored whether there is ...

Education

Live webinar
Mon. 15 September 2025
1:00 pm EST (New York)