YORK Central MP Rachael Maskell has called on ministers to introduce a National Dental Service ‘free at the point of need’.

Speaking in a House of Commons debate on Tuesday, the Labour MP said it was ridiculous that dentistry was treated differently to other aspects of health care.

She said: “York had a dental crisis before the pandemic. Constituents now tell me that they have to wait at least three years to receive NHS treatment and that those trying to register struggle or simply search for treatment outside the area.

“We have serious problems in York. NHS treatment needs to be available for all and, tragically, it is not. Many are now turning to accident and emergency services to get pain relief or a course of antibiotics. Private care is not an option.

“It is perplexing that oral health is seen to be different from other areas of healthcare, and that we have to pay for things that are done to our mouths but not to the rest of our bodies.”

York Press:

Rachael Maskell: 'It is perplexing that oral health is seen to be different from other areas of healthcare'

Ms Maskell was speaking at a Westminster Hall debate on ‘Oral health and dentistry in England’ initiated by Bedford MP Mohammad Yasin.

The debate came as new data from the British Dental Association (BDA) shines a spotlight on the current issues facing dentists.

Dentists have been ordered to return to reaching 60 per cent of their pre-Covid activity levels - but have said that they are currently unable to see patients in huge volumes because they are still bound by restrictions, the BDA says.

Many dentists are still required to wear full personal protective equipment, which they spend a significant amount of time putting on and taking off. This means extra time needs to be allocated between appointments.

Meanwhile, social distancing rules mean that waiting rooms are empty and dentists are unable to see patients as quickly as they would like.

Ms Maskell told MPs that unrealistic contracts for dentists offering NHS treatment meant the whole dentistry system was in danger of collapse.

“Dentists will burn out or leave—indeed, they are doing so as we speak—and the nation’s oral hygiene will deteriorate further,” she said.

“The NHS dental contract fails to pay. Arbitrary, unevidenced targets require dentists to work round the clock, cancel leave and often their whole lives. They force dentists to focus on high-volume, low-risk work such as check-ups, while patients requiring treatment, not least complex treatment, are made to wait. It is unethical and wrong.

“To top it all, the Government’s net spend on dental services..has been cut by more than a third in the past decade.

“There is an opportunity to legislate for a national dental service in the forthcoming health and care Bill to solve this problem.

"Oral health should be seen as a public health matter. It should attract the planning and preventive approach that any other public health emergency would."

The BDA has warned that dentists across England are facing severe pressure as a result of the Covid pandemic.

In a survey, almost half (47 per cent) said they were considering retiring early or may change career due to current pressures, the BDA said.

It has estimated that 30 million appointments have been "lost" due to the Covid-19 crisis.

It comes after a damning report by Healthwatch England highlighted the struggles that patients face when trying to book an NHS dentist appointment.

Some people have been told to wait for three years for an appointment while others are being removed from their practice lists for not making appointments sooner, according to the report.

Dental surgeries have reported that they have thousands of people on their waiting lists, while patients are unable to access care after ringing round numerous dental surgeries - even when they are in need of emergency care.