Financial Sustainability of NHS Dentistry Under Threat

The British Dental Association today highlighted a 35% collapse in earnings which is undermining the future of NHS dentistry.

It is described as the biggest crisis in the dental profession in over 10 years and patient care is expected to suffer as a result, with practices facing bankruptcy through spiralling costs, and many dentists retiring early through stress.

The BDA reported: ‘BDA analysis of new official figures on earnings and expense levels in NHS dental practice show both self-employed associate dentists and practice owners in England and Wales have seen taxable income fall by 35% in real terms over the last decade. The story is replicated across the UK nations, with real terms falls in Scotland and Northern Ireland of well over a quarter since 2009.’

David McColl, Vice Chair of the Scottish Dental Practice Committee, and Acting Vice Chair of Greater Glasgow and Clyde LDC added:

“The Scottish government has ensured we remain the lowest paid dental practitioners in the whole of the UK. Beset on all sides by red tape, underinvestment and a crisis of morale, something has to give. Ministers need to know there are no further efficiencies that can be extracted from the service without compromising patient care.”