Seeing a NHS dentist was expected to get easier under the new dentistrycontract, introduced in April last year, because primary care trustsbecame legally responsible for ensuring the NHS meets "all reasonablerequirements". But Government figures show that since the reforms wereintroduced, 11,000 fewer children were seen by NHS dentists.
In the year before the contract's introduction, NHS dentists saw7,797,000 children. But a year after the contract's introduction thisnumber fell to 7,786,000.
Susie Sanderson, chair of the executive board of the British DentalAssociation, said the figures were evidence that reforms were going inthe wrong direction.
"It's significant for those 11,000 children. But principally therehasn't been an increase and that is what concerns us."
Sanderson blamed the fall on primary care trusts "forcing out" dentalpractices that refused to give up treating adults privately and childrenon the NHS. The contract requires dental practices to treat both adultsand children on the NHS if they are to work for the NHS.
But Liz Phelps, social policy officer for Citizens Advice, said thecontract was right to ban the practice.
She explained that treating children for free and adults privately couldcause resentment and had led to dentists only treating children ifparents were able to pay privately. She added even if dentists opt out,primary care trusts are still required to shift care elsewhere.
The real problem, said Phelps, is primary care trusts have not beengiven extra money from the Government to pay for the amount of careneeded.
This is because funding estimates have been based on dental practices'previous yearly income and have not been adjusted to take into accountthe large number of people who want NHS care but don't get it.
She said: "The best we can say is we're nine months in and it's not muchworse, though it's going the wrong way. If the Government had put moneyin last April it would be a different story. Our main ask now is thatthe Comprehensive Spending Review pumps additional funds in so we cangrow new dentistry services."
Last week, a Citizens Advice survey of 4,000 people found that, whendeprived of local access to dental surgeries, many parents struggle totransport their children to areas where free treatment is available.
Citizens Advice wants the Hospital Travel Costs Scheme extended to helppay for the cost of travelling to NHS dentists.
- For a factsheet for parents on how to access an NHS dentist go towww.adviceguide.org.uk
- www.ic.nhs.uk/pubs/dental06q3.
