There are “massive problems” with NHS dental care in the UK because of “at least a decade of neglect” by ministers, according to the British Dental Association.
BDA chair Eddie Crouch told GB News: “It’s probably at least a decade of decline and neglect. The House select Committee last year came out with a recommendation, the Nuffield Trust came out with almost a similar recommendation that the contract needs ripping up and starting again.
“It’s good to hear Labour have got that high on their agenda. Sadly, the Secretary of State hasn't got it on her agenda.
“What we're getting at the moment is a succession of tweaks which aren't really going to solve the massive problems that we've got.”
In a discussion with Bev Turner and Andrew Pierce, he added: “We have the highest number of dentists on the General Dental Council register that we've probably ever had. But this is a workforce problem, particularly in NHS dentistry.
“When someone leaves the NHS, they’ll probably see half the number of patients that they were seeing on the NHS because it is a treadmill system. As a consequence of that we haven't got enough dentists for the population in the UK.”
He added: “The vast majority of people who graduate don't leave the NHS instantly, and many of them do work for five or ten years in the NHS before they actually move and do more private work because of their experience in the NHS.”
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