Anna Middleton looks at what dental professionals can do.
There can be little doubt that UK dental services have had a challenging time over the last couple of years.
Following the pandemic, the sector was hit by a perfect storm of backed up waiting-lists, millions of missed appointments, and sadly far fewer dental professionals – leaving many people not able to access the treatment they need. As a result, we have seen a gradual decline in the state of the nation’s oral health.
The long-term impact on the ‘lockdown generation’ of dental patients won’t be known for a while. However, dentists and dental hygienists are now facing yet another crisis to hit the industry – the cost-of-living crisis.
Whilst oral health is not the first thing that comes to mind when considering the rising cost of living, the current economic crisis in fact compounds many of the problems first triggered by the pandemic.
The major problem is access. Recent BBC research revealed that 9 in 10 UK dental practices are not accepting new adult patients under the NHS which leaves only private access as an option. This means most treatments, along with preventative dental care is an out-of-pocket expenses, creating a significant financial barrier for many.
As a result, many have been forced to turn to ‘DIY Dentistry’ kits to meet their needs. According to Boots, sales of these kits rose 87 per cent in the last three months of 2020, compared with the previous year. Not only can these kits be incredibly dangerous, but they can also exacerbate the problem and extend patient suffering, adding yet more pressure to dental care.
As fiscal pressures mount and household budgets are squeezed, an increasing number of people may choose to forgo regular check-ups altogether to avoid the cost of treatment. Many others will only seek help once they experience serious and debilitating oral health issues, by which time it is often too late to prevent major damage to their health, happiness and livelihoods.
These kinds of large, expensive treatments (think: tooth extractions, dental implants, oral surgery, etc.) are the types of headaches people want to avoid by skipping the dentist. Yet the irony here is that by evading dental examinations, or visits to the hygienist which can help reverse the early stages of dental decay and gum disease if detected early, patients will potentially require much more expensive and painful interventions down the line.
In seeking to help patients as they navigate the cost of living crisis, dental professionals have to keep making the argument that oral care is a public health necessity – rather than a lifestyle luxury.
In addition, we should be underlining prevention as the single best defence against oral health problems, and the financial woes that can accompany them.
The advice we should all be shouting from the rooftops is: brush your teeth twice a day with a fluoride toothpaste, floss or use interdental brushes daily, reduce sugar and acid intake and adopt regular habits like chewing sugar free gum – all of which contribute to reducing oral bacteria. Sugar-free gum in particular is a useful and cost-effective tool which few people know can significantly decrease the quantity of plaque bacteria in the mouth.
On both a personal and societal level, such measures can make all the difference. In June, the Economist Intelligence Unit found that home care preventive measures like brushing and flossing are of paramount importance in preventing gingivitis and periodontitis. It also found that such techniques had a positive return on investment in all European countries studied.
These kinds of small, consistent behavioural changes can put patients on the path towards good oral health, leave more resources in the system for those in severe need, and put more money into the pockets of struggling patients – who are spared seeking expensive and time-consuming treatment for preventable problems.
In short, we simply cannot afford to drag our feet on the issue of oral health.
References are available on request.