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Dentistry crisis: How to fill the gap in Britain's dental workforce

BDJ In Practice volume 37, page 166 (2024)Cite this article

NHS dentistry is in a severe state of decay. Waiting times for a routine checkup have risen to nine years in parts of the country.1 Without access to dental services, pensioners have been forced to remove their teeth with pliers and thousands of children have been admitted to hospital with tooth decay.2,3 Such is the rotten state of NHS dentistry that government - no longer able to turn a blind eye - has recently published the Dental Recovery Plan.4

The government's £200 million plan includes cash incentives for dentists to deliver NHS care, such as the ‘golden hello' payments of £20,000 to move to areas in the UK where they are most needed, as well as up to £50 for every patient they see who have not had an appointment within the last two years. While promising, no new money has been earmarked and it remains unclear as to when these initiatives will become widely available.

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References

  1. BBC News. News release: ‘Nine-year wait' for NHS dentist in Bridlington. 16 January, 2024. Available online at: www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cn49lp8y57eo (accessed March 2024).

  2. ITV.com. News release: ‘I couldn't get a dentist appointment… so pulled my own teeth out with pliers'. 31 July, 2023. Available online at: www.itv.com/thismorning/articles/i-couldnt-get-a-dentist-appointment-so-pulled-my-own-teeth-out-with-pliers (accessed March 2024).

  3. Dentistry.co.uk. News release: ‘Unfair and unjust' - tooth extractions key reason for hospital admissions among young children. 24 February, 2023. Available online at: https://dentistry.co.uk/2023/02/24/unfair-and-unjust-tooth-extractions-key-reason-for-hospital-admissions-among-young-children/ (accessed March 2024).

  4. Department of Health & Social Care. Policy paper: Faster, simpler and fairer: our plan to recover and reform NHS dentistry. February 2024. Available online at: www.gov.uk/government/publications/our-plan-to-recover-and-reform-nhs-dentistry/faster-simpler-and-fairer-our-plan-to-recover-and-reform-nhs-dentistry (accessed March 2024).

  5. NHS England. NHS Long Term Workforce Plan. June 2023. Available online at: www.england.nhs.uk/publication/nhs-long-term-workforce-plan/ (accessed March 2024).

  6. General Dental Council. Blog: A view from the Chair: the dental workforce is a complex issue. 7 February, 2024. Available online at: www.gdc-uk.org/news-blogs/blog/detail/blogs/2024/02/07/a-view-from-the-chair-the-dental-workforce-is-a-complex-issue (accessed March 2024).

  7. Department of Health & Social Care. Open consultation: Provisional registration for overseas-qualified dentists. 16 February, 2024. Available online at: www.gov.uk/government/consultations/provisional-registration-for-overseas-qualified-dentists/provisional-registration-for-overseas-qualified-dentists (accessed March 2024).

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  1. The Association of Dental Groups, Northumberland, United Kingdom

    Neil Carmichael

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  1. Neil Carmichael
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Correspondence to Neil Carmichael.

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Carmichael, N. Dentistry crisis: How to fill the gap in Britain's dental workforce. BDJ In Pract 37, 166 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41404-024-2715-9

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