Access To Dentistry Not Just About Numbers, Says British Dental Association

Main Category: Dentistry
Article Date: 27 May 2009 - 5:00 PDT

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The Department of Health must start to think beyond simple numerical measures of access to dentistry if it is serious about reducing the oral health inequalities of England's population, according to the British Dental Association (BDA). The BDA's message comes after figures published today by the NHS Information Centre demonstrated a small recovery in the number of people able to access NHS dental care.

According to today's statistics, 27.3 million people in England accessed an NHS dentist in the 24 months ending 31 December 2008, compared to 27.0 million in the 24 months ending 30 September 2008. In the 24 months prior to the introduction of the new dental contract in April 2006, 28.1 million patients were seen.

John Milne, Chair of the BDA's General Dental Practice Committee, said: "Although these figures mean that there are still many people who wish to access a dentist but cannot do so, the increased number of people who can is good news. As well as maintaining this improvement, it is also important that the Department of Health gets to grips with the problems facing dentists as they seek to provide care and work with them to embrace Lord Darzi's vision and help them to deliver high quality care.

"The conclusions of the current inquiry into dental services being led by Professor Jimmy Steele, which are expected in the summer, will need to be the subject of consultation with the profession and any reforms arising from them will need to be properly piloted before they are implemented."

Source
British Dental Association