“Getting it right isn't rocket science”
The British Dental Association (BDA) has warned the Health Committee that policymakers are failing in their duty to consider the role of oral health in the wider health system, as part of its enquiry into primary care.
Tooth decay is currently the number one reason for hospital admissions among young children. The BDA has pointed that a decline in funding is now unsustainable, and that there remains insufficient clarity on what patients and practitioners can expect from NHS dentistry.
The BDA has warned that red tape, declining incomes and mounting costs could threaten the future of patient care.
Mick Armstrong, chair of the British Dental Association, said:
“Sound oral health rests on effective primary care. If government gets it right it can do right by patients and save the health service millions.
“NHS dentists are currently saddled with red tape and busted regulation. The government talks prevention, but provides opaque structures and payment systems that actively undermine it. Fixing each of these problems is not rocket science – it just requires policymakers to give oral health the attention it deserves.”
Summary
The main points of the BDA’s evidence are:
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