Further to the Which? report into NHS dental appointments, which has featured in national press this morning.

We have issued the below comment from Kevin to those who covered the story and dental trade press.

Kevin Lewis, Director at Dental Protection said:

“It is deeply disappointing to see public confidence in their dentists being undermined yet again. The Which? report has revealed a lack of understanding of the current NHS system in England and Wales. Dental practices have their services commissioned by the NHS under contracts which effectively cap the total number of courses of treatment that can be provided and paid for in any financial year.  In March, when this study was carried out, many practices will already have reached that cap and in many of these cases the delay of more than two weeks may well reflect the start of the following financial year and the availability of funding.  Dentists are effectively being criticised for not being prepared to provide dental treatment at their own expense, for which the NHS will not reimburse them.

“Even where remaining contract funding exists, dental practices, just like GP medical practices and hospitals, have a finite capacity for the number of patients that can be seen and treated. Telling patients at the time of their initial contact what the likely delay is before an appointment can be offered, is not “luring patients in” and “deceiving patients”, but providing patients with information that can inform their choice of which practice to attend. As more dental practices become weary of the criticism of their motives, and turn instead to the private sector, waiting lists for NHS dental treatment in other local practices will simply become longer. The regional picture revealed by Which? actually supports the contention that NHS availability is at its worst in areas where more dentists are known to have left the NHS.

“Nobody would support cases where patients are being deliberately misled, but it is not acceptable to assume that this must be the case, simply because a dental practice – perhaps through the quality and popularity of the service it provides – finds that the demand for its services exceeds its capacity to supply them.”