As the new government sets to work, NHS dental reform is high on its agenda. GDPUK‘s Guy Tuggle catches up with BDA Chair Eddie Crouch to examine the currents beneath the surface at Westminster
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The difficulties of one practice in Bristol continue to illustrate just how much needs to be done if UK dentistry is to recover. The St Pauls practice in Bristol has had a turbulent history.
Improved dental health has reduced the number of denture cases, but along with a lack of retention, soreness, and assorted aesthetic issues, there will still be complaints about difficulty eating. Some patients will say that their new teeth are ‘blunt.‘ The days of denture teeth with steel inserts are now long gone but perhaps their makers were on to something.
Imposed in 2018, the sugar tax levied on soft drinks has spearheaded a considerable reduction in the amount of sugar British people consume.
Three weeks ago he described the NHS as "broken". Now a ‘stunned‘ Health & Social Care Secretary, Wes Streeting, has described the Care Quality Commission (CQC) as "unfit for purpose".
Both the outgoing government and the incoming administration have made clear that there are clear priorities for NHS dentistry. Many efforts are focussed upon dealing with priority groups, those with dental emergencies, and reducing inequalities. A recent study has driven home the frequent connection between all three concerns.
The British Dental Association (BDA) has drawn attention to a wide ranging Ipsos GP Patient Survey, published by NHS England, which has revealed that 5.6 million adults tried and failed to access an NHS dental appointment over the past two years.
Read more: Almost Half Of Adults Have Not Seen A Dentist For 2 Years
Concerns about an impending ban on the use of mercury containing amalgam in dentistry have been particularly pressing in Northern Ireland. NHS dentistry there has been having at least as difficult a time as in any of the other four nations, with the familiar challenges of inadequate funding and access problems.
A dentist who left the UK after being removed from the register in 2000 has now been charged over the death of a patient in France.
Read more: Dentist Charged Over Death in France Had Been Banned in UK