NHS dentistry in England is “broken”, with fewer patients seen since the introduction of a dental recovery plan last year, according to a report from the Commons’ Public Accounts Committee.
The report calls for a new contract to be negotiated with dentists and for more resources to be devoted to local health boards, who commission dentistry services.
Cllr David Fothergill, Chairman of the LGA’s Community Wellbeing Board, said: “The committee is right to highlight the challenges around access to NHS dentistry.
“No local authority area in the country has more than one dentist per 1,000 of the population who provides NHS treatment, with rural and more deprived areas more likely to have shortages in NHS dentists than their counterparts.
“Communities face significant challenges with regard to NHS contractual arrangements and patient charges. There’s a significant call from across the political spectrum for a rapid and radical reform of NHS dentistry, the way it’s commissioned and provided.
“We will not solve problems of decayed, missing and filled teeth by only improving access to dental services.
“Improving oral health and reducing oral health inequalities requires community-based oral health promotion programmes and a more prevention-focused dental service.
“In the Spending Review, councils need a real terms increase in their public health grant so they can provide vital oral health improvement programmes to prevent longer-term health problems.”