Patients avoid private dentistry
Updated on 15 October 2007
NHS dental patients in England are being forced to forego treatment, pay to go private or even pull their own teeth.
A survey for the Commission for Patient and Public Involvement in Health also found that a majority of dentists themselves said their contracts, which were introduced last year, had worsened the quality of care and made it harder for patients to get appointments.
In a survey of over 5,000 patients in England, almost a fifth (19 per cent) revealed they had missed out on dental work they needed because of the cost.
Up to 6 per cent had even resorted to treating themselves because they could not find a dentist and patients described taking out their own teeth or fixing broken crowns with glue.
One person questioned in Lancashire spoke of carrying out 14 separate extractions with pliers.
Meanwhile, one of those conducting the research at a shopping centre in Liverpool met three separate people in one morning who had pulled out teeth themselves.
Almost three fifths (58 per cent) of dentists themselves said contracts brought in last year had made the quality of care worse and 84 per cent thought the changes had failed to make it easier for patients to get an appointment.
A total of 78 per cent of patients from private practices polled said they were there either because their dentist had stopped taking NHS patients or that they could not find an NHS clinic, with only 15 per cent saying it was for better treatment.
Of those who said they were not registered with a dentist at all, 29 per cent said they had left their previous one when they went private.
Two out of five (42 per cent) of all patients revealed they had no idea how to get emergency dental treatment out of office hours, and more than half (54 per cent) did not understand how charges worked.
Almost half (45 per cent) of the dentists questioned said their surgery was no longer taking NHS patients with 42 per cent spending less than 75 per cent of their time on them.
Four out of 10 (41 per cent) felt they had an "excessive" workload, while 29 per cent said their clinic had problems recruiting or retaining dentists.
Sharon Grant, chair of the Commission for Patient and Public Involvement in Health, which set up the forums, said: "These findings indicate that the NHS dental system is letting many patients down very badly.
"It appears many are being forced to go private because they don't want to lose their current trusted and respected dentist or because they just can't find a local NHS dentist.
"Where NHS dental services are available, people are happy with the quality of treatment provided but many find the NHS fee system confusing and expensive, with some patients taking out loans to pay for treatment or more worryingly taking matters into their own hands."
