“URGENT and radical” reform is needed as NHS dentistry in York has reached “a new low”, councillors heard.

The number of people who have access to a dentist in the city has plummeted by almost 30 per cent over the last three years, according to a Healthwatch York survey. More than 40 per cent of people said they did not have access to a dentist in 2021.

None of the 39 practices contacted in York last year were taking new adult NHS patients.

Anita Dobson, a nurse consultant in public health, said the pandemic had “magnified” problems that pre-dated Covid.

Dentists, health experts and councillors were unanimous in their view that NHS dentistry was in need of reform during a meeting of the council’s health scrutiny committee.

The most recent data shows that while the prevalence and severity of dental decay in five-year-olds in York is less than the national average, those children that are most affected have almost four teeth decayed, extracted or filled by the time they reach five years of age.

NHS dentists work under the units of dental activity (UDA) system. Critics have claimed the UDA system does not incentivise preventative work and is a key reason for dentists leaving the health service.

North Yorkshire dentist Jeremy Boyle said: “If a patient needs four fillings, an extraction, a root canal treatment and a denture addition, you get paid the exact same amount as if you just did one filling on that patient – there is absolutely zero inventive to take on a high needs patient – it’s not financially viable.”    

The current NHS dental budget – £3.2bn – could only cater for around 51 per cent of the UK population, Mr Boyle added.

York dentist Naz Hussein said: “Without any extra funding whatsoever, our hands are completely tied.”

A parliamentary question in January 2022 revealed that the number of dentists working in the Vale of York area had dropped from 239 in March 2019 to 209 in March 2021. 

Cllr Paul Doughty, committee chairman, said:  “We know the government is looking at much needed reform and I am adding my voice for an urgent review into contracts.”

Councillor Christian Vassie told the committee about the experiences of people in his ward of Wheldrake, several of whom said they could expect to wait five years on an NHS waiting list.

He said: “The young, the old, and everyone in between is being told if you don’t have the money for private treatment then you can forget accessing dental care. It is a scandal. The Government has to act.”

A particular problem for York is that it does not have an out-of-hours emergency service, with the nearest provision being in Harrogate and Hull.

Debbie Pattinson, NHS England’s dental commissioning lead for Yorkshire and the Humber, said: “We know that’s not acceptable and we will try to re-procure a new service – it is a priority for us.”

Healthwatch York manager, Sian Balsom, said: “NHS dentistry in the city has reached a new low and is in need of urgent and radical reform. If we fail to act soon we’ll be putting further pressure on an already severely stressed health system.”

NHS England this week said it would offer 350,000 dental appointments in February and March as part of plans to tackle the backlog exacerbated by the pandemic.