Covid-19: Dental Services

Rachel Hopkins Excerpts

Thursday 14th January 2021 Commons Chamber

[Rachel Hopkins (Luton South) (Lab) [V]]

The breakdown of talks on NHS dentistry targets between NHS England and the General Dental Practice Committee is a failure of leadership on the Government’s behalf. The Government should intervene to reach agreement and alleviate the concerns shared widely across our dedicated dental profession.

Like others, I have been contacted by a dentist in my constituency who is concerned that, with the new covid variant being highly transmissible, and with the national restrictions, or lockdown, it is

“unfathomable that the government has chosen this time to introduce an increase in the target for activity required by dental practices holding an NHS Contract, by effectively more than doubling the minimum requirement of activity to 45%”.

I agree that, with covid rates still high, many patients will be understandably reluctant to go to the dentist. Indeed, British Dental Association analysis shows that more than 20 million appointments were lost between March and November 2020, more than half the treatment in a typical year. I agree with my constituent who queries why Ministers are encouraging potentially unsafe volumes of patients into NHS dentist practices under the imposed new activity targets.

The imposition of severe penalties for not reaching these minimum targets will be untenable for many practices already struggling to meet additional costs due to covid. Many will be at increased risk of closing for good. This would be a terrible situation for my constituents in Luton South, as Luton struggles with a very high level of poor oral health in our children: the severity of tooth decay in children aged five years is above the national average, at four teeth affected. Evidence suggests that deprivation accounts for 40% of the variation in levels of dental decay. Children aged five years living in the most deprived areas of Luton have higher rates of tooth decay than their counterparts in the least deprived areas and are two and a half times more likely to have experienced dental decay. If dental practices are forced to close, it will be harder for my constituents and their children to access the vital dental care they need. The long-term impact of poor oral health affects people not only physically but psychologically, as it influences how they look, speak, eat and socialise.

As my hon. Friend the Member for Putney (Fleur Anderson) said, access to dental care must not become a middle-class luxury. The current target and penalties are bad for practices and patients. I urge the Minister to get back round the negotiating table and revisit the activity targets for January to April to protect our vital dental practices during the pandemic and give them the support they need.