‘Dental deserts’ – six councils refuse new NHS patients

Shirley Kirkpatrick was de-registered when her dentist moved private.

“My dentist has gone private and you have to pay upfront,” she said.

“I don’t have the money for that so I have to go to the dental hospital in Dumfries.

“I think it’s ridiculous. Annan is a small town but everyone needs a dentist.”

The Scottish Conservatives said that basic dental care was becoming “next to impossible” for many people.

Health spokesman Dr Sandesh Gulhane said: ““The critical shortage of NHS dentists has been exacerbated by the SNP making Scotland the highest taxed part of the UK, with the BDA pointing out it has actively hampered recruitment and retention of dentists.

“We risk becoming a nation with poor oral health, and our overwhelmed A&E departments will be left to pick up the pieces when desperate patients turn up in agony there. “

The BDA stated that Scotland needs “a 21st Century service in which dentists would choose to build a career.”

A Scottish government spokesperson said it recognised that in some areas, particularly rural ones, access to dental services remained “challenging”.

They said additional financial support had enabled the opening of the new surgery in Moffat, which was able to take on an extra 2,000 NHS patients.

They added: “Almost one year on from dental payment reform, NHS dental services are responding well to the changes with the latest figures showing over one million courses of treatment were delivered to patients in the quarter ending June 2024.”