Dentistry drop in

I met Eddie Crouch, Chair of the British Dental Association Executive Committee, on Wednesday 7 June 2023 to hear about the current state of Dentistry in England.

The BDA has recently found out that NHS Dentists are at their lowest levels in a decade. Information obtained by the BDA under Freedom of Information requests indicate that just 23,577 dentists performed NHS work in 2022/23, down 695 on the previous year, and over 1,100 down on numbers pre-pandemic. This wipes out a previous growth in the service bringing the figures to levels not seen since 2012/13.

The All Party Parliamentary Group held a drop-in to draw attention to Danielle Watt’s story from Bury St Edmonds who lived with terrible pain. Danielle lived in a dental desert and was unable to afford private dental care, she ended up pulling out 13 of her own teeth. Danielle has crowdfunded for dentures. She should not have had to do that but this shows the human cost of the crisis in Dentistry. Details for BDA can be found on their website and blog.