Half of dentists to STOP NHS work amid fears it could spell end of ‘free’ treatments

HALF of dentists are ditching NHS patients because they don’t get paid enough.

Brits already struggle to register with a dentist or book appointments but now even more will be forced to go private.

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A poll by the British Dental Association found 45 per cent of dentists plan to go fully private within the next year.

Half have already reduced their NHS work since 2020 and 75 per cent plan to cut back on non-private patients this year, according to a survey of 2,200.

Shawn Charlwood, spokesman for the BDA, said: “Overstretched and underfunded, thousands of dentists have already left the NHS but more have begun severing their ties.  

“This lingering decline will leave millions of patients with no options.

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“Without urgent reform and adequate funding there is little hope we can halt this exodus.”

Recent figures showed around nine in 10 clinics have already closed their lists to new patients.

Dentists say the way they get paid for NHS work means they often lose money on it.

They get a set fee for each “unit” of a procedure or check and do not earn extra cash for longer or more complicated appointments.

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A patient who needs ten fillings does not bring in more money than a patient who only has one, the BDA said.

And clinics have a limit on the amount they can earn from the NHS each year, meaning patients miss out when the allowance is gone.

More than 3,000 dentists have already quit NHS work since the start of the Covid pandemic.

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Health minister Maria Caulfield said: “We are working closely with the NHS to reform the dental system.

“We are currently negotiating improvements to the contract with the British Dental Association to ensure that working in the NHS remains attractive to dentists.”