THE number of dentists treating NHS patients in the East of England has fallen by more than 250 in the last year, according to new data.

Figures released by NHS England show that in the East of England, 251 dentists stopped working with the NHS last year – that’s 7% of the region’s workforce.

In Essex, Southend lost 12% of its NHS dentists in the past year and in the last five years, Epping, Harlow and Uttlesford have seen 17% decrease in dentists working with the NHS.

The British Dental Association (BDA) said unhappiness with NHS dental contracts was a key factor, with many dentists now only providing private healthcare services.

Mark Whetstone worked as a dentist for the NHS but is now the owner of Essex-based private clinic, Whelby Dental. He left because he was unhappy with the NHS dental contract: “They brought in a system based on units of dental activity (UDS) and moved away from the fee per item. 

“You used to get paid for every item of treatment you did on a fee scale, but the new contract meant that if you saw a patient for treatment and they needed one filling, they would pay a certain fee which would be the same even if they needed five fillings or a root canal.

“The contract changed the way we could provide treatment. It’s always up to you, the level of treatment you provide, but the new contract made it impossible to keep the the standard of care up that we wanted to provide and hence we left.”

He’s not surprised more dentists are stopping working with the NHS and are going private, as it gives them more flexibility and control: “Leaving the NHS meant that we could focus on the patient, base the care on their needs, and then in a reasonable manner, fit the prices to accommodate what the patients wanted.

“Moving forward, more dentists, for their own work-life balance will move into the private sector and there’ll be less provisions the NHS, so more patients will move into the private sector.

“Unfortunately, I see a future for private dentistry which is not matched by the National Health Service.”

What are the numbers in Essex?

The number of dentists who stopped treating NHS patients between 2020 and 2021 in each Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) in Essex:

• Southend CCG – lost 12 dentists
• West Essex CCG (covers Harlow, Epping Forest and Uttlesford) – lost 12 dentists
• North East Essex CCG (covers Colchester and Tendring) – lost 13 dentists
• Basildon and Brentwood CCG – lost 7 dentists
• Castle Point and Rochford CCG – lost 6 dentists
• Mid Essex CCG (covers Maldon, Braintree and Chelmsford) – lost 6 dentists
• Thurrock CCG – lost 4 dentists

The lack of dentists will see many waiting longer for appointments and treatments, the BDA’s Shawn Charlwood warned: “It’s a really serious situation and every dentist that is lost or every vacancy for NHS dentistry that remains unfilled affects thousands of patients in terms of care and their ability to access care.”

Nationally, data from NHS England and NHS Wales shows more than 2,500 dentists – up to 8% of the workforce – stopped treating NHS patients last year.

An NHS spokesperson said: “The NHS has taken unprecedented action to support NHS dentists throughout the pandemic by providing additional funding for practices unable to deliver their usual levels of activity, alongside rapidly setting up 600 urgent dental centers across England so patient services could be maintained during the pandemic.

“People should continue to come forward for the dental care they need, and the care and treatment of people who need it most should be prioritised.”