NHS must step up access to dental care

Dental Tribune International

Wed. 14 August 2024

save

LEEDS, England: A new study exploring the disparities in access to National Health Service (NHS) dental care across different neighbourhoods in England has identified significant geographical inequalities. Influenced by factors such as neighbourhood deprivation and urban versus rural settings, the problem of accessing NHS dental care has become increasingly pronounced over the past decade, and there are reports of patients struggling to find local NHS dentists. The study provides a robust framework for assessing and potentially improving access to dental care across England.

To measure availability and accessibility (i.e. proximity), the study employed official NHS dental provision data and population statistics. The team also developed a special model that accounts for supply competition and distance decay which is the decrease in likelihood of utilising dental services as the distance to the service increases. Key findings of the study are that both availability and accessibility of NHS dental services are generally below what is needed to provide basic dental care. Additionally, this issue is not uniformly distributed, varying significantly by location and neighbourhood characteristics.

The research found that neighbourhoods with higher levels of deprivation tend to have slightly better access to dental services, as these areas are more likely to have higher availability and accessibility scores. In contrast, rural areas, despite having a higher density of dental provision per capita, often have poor accessibility owing to longer travel distances.

The study emphasises the utility of the model developed in exploring various what-if scenarios, such as changes in demand or the opening and closure of dental practices. This approach can aid policymakers in identifying areas with poor access and optimising the allocation of additional dental resources. However, the study also highlights challenges such as edge effects near the borders with Scotland and Wales, where different dental care systems operate, complicating accessibility assessments. The research called for targeted interventions in areas with poor accessibility and pointed to the need for strategic planning in dental service provision to address these spatial disparities effectively.

The study, titled “Spatial disparities in access to NHS dentistry: A neighbourhood-level analysis in England”, was published online on 22 June 2024 in the European Journal of Public Health.