Labour: NHS dental care has ‘rotted away’ as thousands turn to private sector

More than 36,000 Scots have left NHS dentists to go private in the last five years, according to figures from Scottish Labour.

The party says NHS dental care has “rotted away under the SNP” as patients are opting for more expensive private clinics.

Labour submitted freedom of information requests to Scotland’s health boards on the number of patients who have left NHS dentists.

Since 2019, the number is 36,818 – though the real figure is higher as data was not available for some years.

Paul Sweeney, Labour’s dentistry spokesman, said: “The fact that patients are suddenly paying quadruple the cost for dentistry in a cost-of-living crisis suggests Scots are handing over their life savings and pensions just to get the treatment they desperately need to relieve themselves of severe pain.

“This is what privatisation looks like – those who can, pay for a private dentist; those who can’t, suffer without access to an NHS dentist when they need it.

“A number of my constituents in Glasgow are suffering in agony without access to an NHS dentist and I know how desperate they are for relief from their dental pain – but they should not have to choose between paying for a private dentist or having no dentist at all.

“NHS dental care has rotted away under the SNP when we need to be encouraging more dentists to work for the NHS so that everyone is able to register as an NHS patient.”

A Scottish Government spokesman said: “We are improving access to NHS dentistry following disruption from the pandemic, and have implemented significant NHS dental payment reform following extensive discussion with the sector.

“This has been well-received, with one million patients seen by an NHS dentist in the first three months of 2024, and we continue to work closely with NHS boards in areas where access is proving more challenging.

“We are also engaging with our counterparts across the UK on initiatives to increase our dental workforce capacity through review and improvement to international pipelines.”

Meanwhile, the British Dental Association said further reforms are needed.

David McColl, chairman of the organisation’s Scottish dental practice committee, said: “Reforms rolled out last year offer some hope of keeping some NHS practices sustainable.

“It’s a start but can’t be the final destination. Further reform is still needed to ensure this service is a place dentists would choose to build a career.”