Mark Spencer, NHS Alliance co-chair, and GP at Mount View Practice in Fleetwood, commented:
“NHS Alliance agrees the NHS dental health system is unfit for purpose. Dentistry needs to be much more a part of the multidisciplinary primary care landscape, and also needs to have a larger role in out of hospital urgent care. If we are truly serious about improving out of hospital care then there must be increased funding for all primary care providers, including dentistry, to create an integrated care service.
“As with many health inequalities, tooth decay is generally more common in deprived areas. One factor undoubtedly revolves around parenting and poor diet, but also there is a lack of access to dental care. This is a major problem facing many people, but especially those in deprived areas. It is important we prioritise development and extra resource for areas of greatest deprivation, and NHS Alliance will continue to work with disadvantaged communities in 2016, sharing best practice and celebrating good leadership from across primary care.
“Another reason to invest and promote dentistry is because dentists can have a much wider role to play than just preventing and treating tooth decay. Dentists can use their skills to contribute to early detection of oral cancer, as well as distributing simple health promotion messages to patients, such as healthy eating and the dangers of smoking, increasing the focus on prevention and self-care.”
Sameer Patel, clinical director at Harley Street practice, Elleven, commented:
“These findings are a big cause for concern - especially given the number of young children that are being admitted to hospital when NHS dental treatment is readily available to children for free under the age of 18.
“Seeing a dentist regularly from a young age is crucial as aside from treatment, dentists provide information on preventative measures which help to formulate life long oral health habits and educate children about fundamental ways of improving oral health.
“To tackle the problem we should perhaps consider re-introducing dental visits and educational talks in schools, with a specific focus on problem areas in England, given the extent of the problem.
“However, first and foremost, responsibility lies with parents to make sure their children are willing and not afraid to go to the dentist. It can often be the case that dental phobias from older generations are passed on to the younger generation despite the advancements the industry has seen in the last decade.”
Response from the BSPD:
The British Society of Paediatric Dentistry (BSPD) recognises some of the concerns raised in a recent letter to the Telegraph (4 January 4, 2016), ‘The NHS dental health system is unfit for purpose’. However it would encourage a balanced view and believes that national media attention should be positively harnessed. The BSPD is the national society dedicated to improving the oral health of children in the UK.
“We recognise that there is a need to improve dental services for children. This means revising and modernising the General Dental Services to put more focus on prevention and ensuring that specialist services have the capacity to meet the needs of children being referred. Many hospital paediatric dentistry services are currently overloaded with large numbers of referrals and unacceptably long waiting lists.
“There is already positive work underway. The BSPD is currently working with Public Health England to explore national measures for oral health improvement, including a feasibility study to introduce a national programme of prevention, akin to Scotland’s ‘Childsmile’. The Society is also actively contributing to the drafting of a commissioning guide for paediatric dentistry.
“There are challenges ahead, but Sara Hurley, recently appointed as Chief Dental Officer for England, has made it clear that she recognises this. BSPD is keen to work with our colleagues in the General Dental Services to improve dental healthcare for children. It is vital that all sections of the profession continue to work together to develop solutions to these challenges and to maintain high quality dental health services for the public.”