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The British Dental Association (BDA) has said decent data must underpin the government's response to the crisis in dentistry, following the use of wholly inaccurate numbers1 to underpin
calls to 'tie in' young dentists to the NHS. Following publication of the NHS Long Term Workforce Plan,2 both the Prime Minister and Health Secretary claimed that 'two
thirds' of dentists did not practise in the NHS after training, evidence which served as the basis for a new policy for dental graduates. The official record has now been updated to
state just 'one third' of dentists do not do NHS work, a figure the professional body stresses remains erroneous. Asked at a Downing Street briefing whether more dentists should
work in the NHS rather than doing private work, and whether the government would do anything to achieve that goal, the Prime Minister answered: 'The simple answer is yes and yes. We are
exploring the possibility of introducing what's called a tie-in for dentistry. Around about two-thirds of dentists after they have finished their specialty training end up not doing
work in the NHS'. The Health Secretary subsequently told MPs 'two thirds of dentists do not go into NHS work after training', stating that the 'tie-in' was 'an
important part of the long-term workforce plan'. The Dental Schools Council has since stated that 97% of dental graduates currently continue to vocational training within the NHS. The
BDA understand the government's corrected figure makes no attempt to establish the destination of dentists after training, but is simply a crude measure of high street NHS dentists as a
proportion of all those currently registered to practice. This approach ignores over 3,000 NHS dentists working in hospitals and makes no consideration of those in dental public health,
academia or the armed forces. The BDA had slammed the 'tie in' plan for failing to tackle the root of problems driving NHS dentists of all ages out of the service. The BDA stress
that Ministers need to reform the discredited contract fuelling the exodus and make the service a place dentists would choose to build a career, not just 'handcuff the next generation
to a sinking ship'. The Commons Health and Social Care Committee stated in its recommendations to end the crisis in NHS dentistry, published just days after the claims, that any tie-ins
should follow a full consultation with the workforce and rollout of 'fundamental contract reform.' Government workforce data do not capture the amount of NHS work dentists do,
with headcount figures giving a dentist doing one NHS check-up a year the same weight as an NHS full timer. Over half (50.3%) of high street dentists responding to recent BDA surveys
reported having reduced NHS commitments since the start of the pandemic. Seventy-four percent stated their intention to reduce - or further reduce - their NHS work. This includes dentists at
all stages in their careers, not merely newly qualified dentists. MPs have repeatedly sought to correct the record following consistent misrepresentations from government on the scale of
the crisis in dentistry. Contrary to repeat claims made by the Prime Minister, official figures secured last month by the BDA under freedom of information indicate just 23,577 dentists
performed NHS work in England in the 2022/23 financial year, over 1,100 down on numbers pre-pandemic, a level not seen since 2012. BDA Chair Eddie Crouch said: 'A failed contract is
forcing dentists out of the NHS every day it remains in force. Ministers need to start by fixing a broken system, not by handcuffing young dentists to it'. REFERENCES * UK Parliament.
Ministerial Corrections. Volume 736: debated on Wednesday 12 July 2023. Available at:
https://hansard.parliament.uk/commons/2023-07-12/debates/55d9f0fd-368c-4f74-959d-a2242b2c0c90/MinisterialCorrections (accessed August 2023). * NHS England. NHS Long Term Workforce Plan. 30
June 2023. Available at: https://www.england.nhs.uk/publication/nhs-long-term-workforce-plan/ (accessed August 2023). Download references RIGHTS AND PERMISSIONS Reprints and permissions
ABOUT THIS ARTICLE CITE THIS ARTICLE Young dentists mustn't be handcuffed to dodgy contract. _Br Dent J_ 235, 242 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41415-023-6260-4 Download citation *
Published: 25 August 2023 * Issue Date: 25 August 2023 * DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41415-023-6260-4 SHARE THIS ARTICLE Anyone you share the following link with will be able to read this
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