Almost no dentist believes Tory £200m 'recovery plan' will solve NHS patient crisis, poll finds

Just 3% of dentists believe the government’s dental recovery plan will result in them seeing more NHS patients, a new poll has found.

Pic: PA

A survey of 1,104 dentists in England found that 43% believe the proposals will lead to them seeing fewer patients, while 54% said the number of NHS patients they see will remain the same.

The government unveiled its £200m plan to bolster NHS dentistry in England last month.

However, a new poll by the British Dental Association (BDA) found three-quarters (75%) of dentists do not believe the plan will improve NHS access for new patients.

More than nine in 10 (93%) said the proposals are not sufficiently ambitious to meet the scale of the challenge facing NHS dentistry.

Chris McCann, from Healthwatch England, said: “NHS dentistry has been in crisis for some time, with many people unable to access an NHS dentist and not having the means to pay for private care.

“We’ve yet to see any official data on how well the plan is working, but it’s concerning to hear that so few dentists appear to have confidence that it will.”

MPs on the Health and Social Care Committee will quiz Dame Andrea Leadsom, a health minister, on the government’s recovery plan on Tuesday.

The government has said the plan will “fund more than 1.5 million additional NHS dentistry treatments or 2.5 million NHS dentistry appointments”.

However, the BDA has called for the modelling behind the claim to be released.

What’s in the £200m plan?

• £20,000 bonuses for dentists working in under-served communities

• Dentists being paid more for NHS work

• A “Smile for Life” advice programme aimed at new parents and mobile dental teams being deployed to schools

• The rollout of so-called “dental vans” in rural and coastal communities

• Plans for the biggest expansion of water fluoridation in England since the 1990s

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Shawn Charlwood, chair of the BDA’s general dental practice committee, who will also give evidence to the committee on Tuesday, said: “Check-ups are hard to come by, but it will prove much harder for ministers to find a dentist who backs their outlandish claims.

“Empty soundbites won’t stop queues outside practices, and dodgy statistics won’t call time on ‘DIY’ dentistry.”

Labour’s shadow health secretary Wes Streeting said: “After 14 years of Conservative neglect, patients are literally pulling their own teeth out, and tooth decay is the number one reason for six to 10 year-olds going to hospital.”

A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: “Backed by £200m in 2024/25, the fully funded plan will support practices to deliver on their obligations and provide more NHS care for patients.”