The British Dental Association (BDA) has urged the Welsh Government to correct the record, following misleading claims that 112,000 “extra” dental appointments have been secured by recent reforms.
Under plans taken forward in 2022, ministers have made dentists prioritise seeing “new” patients, with healthier patients receiving less frequent check-ups.
BDA Wales stresses that the increase in new patients will necessitate a sharp drop in access for more regular attenders. It warns that these numbers cannot disguise the Welsh Government’s unwillingness to invest in NHS services and provide access for all. The total number of patients seen by NHS dentists in Wales has yet to returned to pre-covid levels.
Dentist leaders say the pledge of £2m in additional funding to increase access to dental services amounts to a one per cent boost on pre-covid budget levels and will likely have little effect due to rising inflation. They believe that sustained investment is the only solution.
Russell Gidney, chair of the British Dental Association's Welsh General Dental Practice Committee, said, “The Welsh Government is cooking the books on patient numbers. Ministers haven't created 100,000 extra appointments but simply moved the goalposts.
“The fact is for every new patient seen a dozen historic patients could lose access to dentistry. This is all that’s possible when we fail to meaningfully invest in frontline services.”