NHS dental services in Scotland continue to shrink

Dental Tribune International

Wed. 30. October 2024

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EDINBURGH, Scotland: As each week passes, the UK dental care crisis continues to deepen, despite political rhetoric and policies to the contrary. Because of insufficient government funding, combined with rising operational costs and personnel shortages, many National Health Service (NHS) dentists are opting to either privatise their practices or leave the profession altogether. This significant economic restructuring has produced a range of harmful consequences, but among the most important is the enormous reduction in NHS appointments available for members of the public. Recent research by the BBC has revealed that, in certain parts of Scotland, appointments have now become so scarce as to have virtually disappeared.

To gain insight into the unfolding crisis, the BBC contacted approximately 900 dentists across Scotland, asking them about their capacity to take on NHS patients. Of these practices, 717 responded, and the results were telling. Most importantly, the report showed the emergence of “dental deserts”, areas where public access to NHS appointments was not simply reduced but had practically vanished.

More specifically, six largely rural council areas within Scotland—Argyll and Bute, Dumfries and Galloway, Inverclyde, Orkney Islands, Perth and Kinross, and Shetland Islands—had no dentists with NHS capacity for new patients. This means that those in need of dental care are faced with the tough decision of having to either pay high costs for private treatment or travel further afield in the hope of securing an appointment, itself a far from certain prospect.

Commenting on the situation, Dr David McColl, chair of the British Dental Association’s Scottish Dental Practice Committee, said in an interview with the Dental Nursing journal: “The Scottish government delivered needed reform, but we have been clear this can’t be the end of the road. The simple facts are many patients are unable to access NHS care, while practices have vacancies they can’t fill. It’s two sides of the same coin.” Remarking on the changes to the industry that are required, he continued: “Scotland needs a 21^st century service in which dentists would choose to build a career. Ready to shift the focus from treatment to prevention.”

As ever, the dental health of ordinary citizens suffers while political discourse and macroeconomic forces wax and wane.