Lib Dems announce £750m dental rescue package to prevent “exodus of dentists” from NHS

EMBARGO: 22:30 Thursday 20th June

• Number of NHS dentists leaving has jumped by a third since 2018/19 putting further pressure on already stretched services

• Lib Dems announce £750m plan to offer more NHS dentist appointments and deliver free check-ups for children 

• Ed Davey says “the Conservative party has pushed dentistry to the brink” and that “children are paying the price for their neglect”

The Liberal Democrats have today (Friday 21 June) announced a £750 million a year dental rescue plan to offer more appointments and free check-ups for children, in an effort to combat the growing crisis in NHS dentistry. 

The Liberal Democrat plan would mean around a quarter increase in funding on the NHS dentistry budget in England, which would help reform the NHS contract to encourage more dentists to take on NHS work.

It comes as analysis reveals the number of dentists leaving the NHS in England has risen by a third in the past four years, while worrying numbers are nearing retirement age. The House of Commons Library research shows over 2,000 dentists left the NHS in 2022/23, up from 1,516 in 2018/19. A further 3,532 dentists are nearing retirement age in England, over one in seven (14.6%) of the total dentists in the country. 

The Liberal Democrats warned that urgent action is needed to stop the exodus of dentists from the NHS, with almost three in 10 NHS dentists nearing retirement age in some areas. In North Lincolnshire 29% of NHS dentists are aged 55 and over, in North East Lincolnshire it is 27%, Norfolk and Waveney 24%, East Sussex 22% and in Dorset it is 20%.

The Liberal Democrats are calling for urgent reforms to the dental contract to deliver more NHS dentist appointments and free check-ups for children. The party’s plan, backed by funding of £750m a year by the end of the Parliament, would guarantee access to an NHS dentist for everyone needing urgent and emergency care by:

• Bringing dentists back to the NHS from the private sector by fixing the broken NHS dental contract and using flexible commissioning to meet patient needs.

• Introducing an emergency scheme to guarantee access to free NHS dental check-ups for those already eligible: children, new mothers, those who are pregnant and those on low incomes.

Liberal Democrat Leader Ed Davey said:

“Across the country, millions of people are going without basic dental care, with many even turning to pulling their own teeth out due to the lack of services. It is an utterly appalling situation that has to be brought to an end.

“The Conservative government has pushed dentistry to the brink and it is children and parents who are paying the price of their neglect. 

“Years of this Conservative government kicking the can down the road is creating an exodus of dentists from the NHS. 

“The Liberal Democrats have an ambitious plan to fix the dental contract and tackle the crisis in dental care. Every vote for the LiberalDemocrats is a vote to get rid of this appalling Conservative government and fix the NHS and care.”

ENDS

Notes to Editors:

House of Commons Library data can be found here.

Notes from the House of Commons Library:

NHS Digital data shows the number of dentists who left and joined the NHS each year since 2018/19. The attached spreadsheet shows this data for NHS sub-ICB locations (as NHS dental services are not organised by trust). This data is available for England only. 

A leaver is defined as a dentist who performs NHS activity in one year but not in the next. 

The NHS Digital data also shows the age of dentists. As of 2022/23, 3,532 dentists performing NHS activity were 55 or over, which was 14.6% of the total. The attached spreadsheet also shows this data for each NHS sub-ICB location.

Liberal Democrat Plan for Dentistry

The Liberal Democrats will invest £750m a year by 2028-29 in their plan to guarantee access to an NHS dentist for everyone needing urgent and emergency care by:

• Bringing dentists back to the NHS from the private sector by fixing the broken NHS dental contract and using flexible commissioning to meet patient needs.

• Introducing an emergency scheme to guarantee access to free NHS dental check-ups for those already eligible: children, new mothers, those who are pregnant and those on low incomes