NHS dental fees are set to rise from next month, with a standard check-up increasing from £27.40 to £27.90. The British Dental Association (BDA) has described the rise as a 'slap in the face' to those on lower incomes, warning that hard-pressed households will face increased costs while the Government reduces its own contribution.
Patient fees now stand roughly two thirds higher than in 2010. The BDA estimates that if ministerial funding had risen at an equivalent rate, the total allocation would approach £4.5 billion, enough to address the current crisis and restore millions of people's access to NHS dental care. Instead, the NHS dentistry allocation has remained frozen at £3 billion, serving approximately half of England's population—a £1 billion real-terms reduction when accounting for inflation.
Shiv Pabary, chair of the BDA's general dental practice committee, stated: 'This hike is a slap in the face to millions on modest incomes. It won't put a penny into a service on its knees. Patients will pay more, simply so ministers can pay less.' The BDA notes that the 1.7% rise sits below inflation, yet patients continue to shoulder an increasingly larger proportion of overall NHS dentistry expenditure.
From next week, Band 2 care (fillings, extractions, root canal) will cost £76.60, up from £75.30, and Band 3 care (dentures) will rise from £326.70 to £332.10. Exemptions apply to those under 18, pregnant women, new mothers, and recipients of certain benefits.
The Mirror has launched the 'Dentists for All' campaign to address the failing system, which has left individuals unable to access an NHS dentist, forcing some to extract their own teeth or fall into debt seeking private treatment. The BDA accuses the Treasury of a prolonged strategy of stealth reductions, using charge increases to mask cuts in state expenditure.
