Addressing the Crisis in NHS Dentistry

That the Parliament believes that there is a crisis in NHS dentistry; notes that the number of NHS dental check-ups and treatments being conducted are dramatically below pre-COVID-19 pandemic levels; further notes with concern that the number of dentists who are carrying out NHS work has fallen in 11 NHS boards, with the chair of the British Dental Association’s Scottish Dental Practice Committee warning of a “wholescale exodus” from the sector; understands that most dentists are not accepting new NHS patients and that polling has shown that many of those registered have been unable to get appointments; believes that the lack of government action to resolve this is leaving people in pain and will cause wider mouth health issues to be missed, and calls on the Scottish Government to rewrite the NHS Recovery Plan so that it includes dentistry fully and properly recognises the importance of dentists in the course of the recovery, and to urgently reform the funding structures so that dentists can return to taking on NHS activity and enable more patients to be seen.