BDA rejects incremental ADG reform call amid NHS dentistry crisis

The British Dental Association (BDA) slapped down calls from the Association of Dental Groups (ADG) for incremental NHS dental contract reform as it met the new dentistry minister to spell out the bleak future facing the service without radical change.

BDA chair Eddie Crouch said: ‘You will struggle to find a dentist in this country who thinks the answer to the crisis in NHS dentistry is more tweaks at the margins.

‘Ministers don’t need another lesson in how to fill a leaky bucket.

‘We won’t halt the exodus from the NHS without turning the page on 20 years of failed contracts and savage cuts.’

A recent BDA survey of dentists in England found that just 1% expected to increase the amount of NHS work they provided following recent contract changes. Some 63% expected to reduce it.

Only 10% believed the changes had improved NHS dentistry. Four fifths did not agree that the government was likely to meet patient need, fund the service properly or deliver a comprehensive workforce plan.

Incremental reform

The BDA’s intervention followed the publication of the ADG’s priorities for NHS dental contract reform in England.

The ADG said it did not support ‘root and branch’ reform. It instead called for problems with the changes introduced in April to be addressed and evaluated before further incremental reforms were considered.

Its other recommendations included increased NHS dental funding, a review of the minimum unit of dental activity rate and changes to the Dental Performer List and NHS mentorship process. It also called on the government to explore a separate NHS dental contract for children.

Crouch joined General Dental Practice Committee chair Shiv Pabary and BDA chief executive Martin Woodrow for a meeting with James Frith, the minister with responsibility for dentistry, at the Department of Health and Social Care this week.

The BDA said its representatives presented evidence from dentists and pressed the government to deliver fundamental reform, sustainable funding and a comprehensive workforce plan.

It also criticised the previous Labour government, led by Sir Keir Starmer, for failing to put its proposals for fundamental reform out to public consultation during the summer. The association said no new investment had yet been committed to rebuilding the service.

‘Before the last election Labour told us the cavalry was coming. The longer this profession is left to wait, the less of a service there will be left to save,’ said Pabary.

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