Only one third of adults accessed NHS dental care in the last two years, new figures reveal, sparking further frustration from the profession.
Just 34% accessed NHS dental care in the 24 months to 31 March – with the number of children seen in the last year standing at 44.8%.
This compares to 49.6% for adults and 58.7% for children in the last full year before the pandemic.
In 2021 – 22, just 26.4 million courses of NHS dental treatment were delivered. This is just two thirds (67%) of the average volumes delivered annually in the five years before the pandemic. This is equal to 39.4 million.
Recent BBC research has highlighted the extent of the crisis, with nine in ten practices unable to take on new adult patients on the NHS.
The BDA argues that recent changes to the NHS contract also do little to ‘meaningfully expand’ access.
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‘Step up and deliver’
BDA chair Eddie Crouch said: ‘What we’re seeing isn’t a recovery, but a service on its last legs.
‘The government will be fooling itself and millions of patients if it attempts to put a gloss on these figures.
‘NHS dentistry is lightyears away from where it needs to be. Unless ministers step up and deliver much-needed reform and decent funding, this will remain the new normal.’
Recent figures show that almost 40% of the UK cannot afford an appointment with their dentist due to the cost of living crisis.
According to the new report, of those who cannot afford the dentist, millennials are struggling the most.
Carried out by vouchercodes.co.uk, the analysis also reveals that half (47%) of those aged 25 to 34 avoid the dentist in the face of the current economic climate.
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