By Professor John Robertson OBA

From Public Health Scotland today:

5,176,332 people were registered with an NHS dentist as at 30 June 2024 (94.5% of the Scottish population).

621,767 extensive clinical examinations were paid in the quarter ending 30 June 2024 under the new pay arrangements. In total, over 1.7million have been undertaken since the NHS dental payment reform was introduced.¹

In England:

Since the current dental contract was introduced in 2006, there has been no system of registration for dentistry in England. This means that, unlike with GPs, patients can attend any dentist that provides NHS services for a course of treatment.²

‘Can?’ What percentage did?

As of June 30, 2023, 43% of adults in England had seen an NHS dentist in the previous 24 months, and 56% of children had seen an NHS dentist in the previous 12 months. ³

In a 2023 survey by the British Dental Association, over half of dentists [in England] who responded said they had reduced the amount of NHS work they do since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic. Almost three quarters said they were intending to reduce, or further reduce, their NHS commitment in 2023.⁴

Sources:

1. https://www.publichealthscotland.scot/publications/nhs-dental-data-monitoring-report/nhs-dental-data-monitoring-report-quarter-ending-june-2024/
2. https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/cbp-9597/
3. https://www.healthwatch.co.uk/news/2023-08-24/annual-nhs-dental-statistics-england-our-response#:~:text=New%20figures%20published%20today%20in%20the%20annual,months%2C%20still%20below%20pre%2Dpandemic%20levels%20of%2059%.
4. https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/cbp-9597/#:~:text=The%20number%20of%20dentists%20per,their%20NHS%20commitment%20in%202023.

The OBA – https://scotsindependent.scot/?page_id=116