DT News - UK - Dental care system in crisis an international disgrace, dentists say

Dental Tribune UK

Fri. 5 January 2018

save

LONDON, UK: Dentistry in the UK is “an international disgrace”, dentists from across the country have said. In a letter sent to the Daily Telegraph this week, the author claims that the dental care system is facing a “national crisis” with patients being left untreated in many areas of Britain.

Instead of being supported by the dental care system, these patients are increasingly forced to rely on charity organisations for treatment, they said in the letter, of which excerpts were published by the newspaper on Tuesday.

“Not only does rotten teeth remain the number one medical reason for any young child being admitted to hospital, but third world-based dental charities are expanding here from previous years and large American charities are looking to come to the UK,” the letter states.

Recently, American charity, Remote Area Medical announced their plans to open temporary clinics, similar to their US models, in the UK. The charity would follow domestic organisations like Dentaid, which is already running schemes providing free services to people with low income in counties such as West Yorkshire, Hampshire and Cornwall.

“It is a terrible situation when you have got charities looking at Britain and seeing there is a desperate need to provide basic care,” Dr Tony Kilcoyne, who collected the signatures in the letter, said. “It is a wake-up call; we are urging Government to act now to improve the state of dentistry and tackle the inadequacies in our system.”

The calls from the dentists come at the same time that doctors and patients nationwide reported about devastating conditions within trusts and hospitals. The government has denied any problems saying that the NHS is “better prepared for winter than ever before”.

To post a reply please login or register

Irish dental service system prevents dentists from providing adequate care

DUBLIN, Ireland: A recent survey conducted by the Irish Dental Association (IDA) has found that the majority of dentists have no confidence in the Dental ...

Dentistry in England: A national disgrace?

LONDON, UK: The British government has recently published the much-anticipated recovery plan for National Health Service (NHS) dentistry in a policy paper, ...

GDC suspends dentist in rare case of malpractice

LONDON, UK: The General Dental Council (GDC) has reported that it is suspending the registration of a dentist from Northern Ireland, after a public hearing ...

Why ergonomics and self-care are essential in dentistry

Advances in technology in dentistry have rapidly improved diagnostics, streamlined treatments and made the dental chair a safer, more comfortable place. ...

Dentist health scare – shocking, but rare

The recent news that 22,000 patients of a Nottinghamshire dentist are being contacted and offered testing for blood-borne diseases, such as HIV and ...

UK’s largest dental faculty releases manifesto aimed at combating the deepening oral care crisis

EDINBURGH, Scotland: As access to publicly funded dental healthcare continues to deteriorate for many people across the UK, the Faculty of Dental Surgery of...

Until Saturday dentists can have their say on endodontics

GERRARDS CROSS, UK: In order to improve its activities in the promotion of endodontic treatment, the British Endodontic Society is currently inviting ...

Dentists warn of recruitment crisis looming over NHS

LONDON, UK: Over two-thirds of NHS practices in England have had difficulties filling vacancies, a recent survey by the British Dental Association (BDA) has...

Scotland’s poorest paying the price for dental crisis, says British Dental Association

EDINBURGH, Scotland: Fresh statistics from Public Health Scotland have revealed widening oral healthcare inequities in Scotland, and the British Dental ...

An app twice a day keeps the dentist away

PLYMOUTH, UK: The Brush DJ smartphone app, developed by British dentist Ben Underwood, is designed to encourage youngsters to adopt and maintain an ...

Education

Live webinar
Wed. 15 October 2025
12:00 am UTC (London)