Number of NHS dentists in Norfolk fell by nearly ten percent between 2020 and 2021
That's nearly the same rate with which the number of these NHS practitioners fell over the last five years in total
The state of NHS dentistry has been described as 'hanging by a thread' after new data revealed that over 2,500 dental posts were lost in the last year across England and Wales.
Locally. the number of NHS dentists in Norfolk fell by nearly ten percent last year.
That's nearly the same rate with which numbers fell in total, between 2017 and 2021, according to data from our Clinical Commissioning Group.
Shawn Charlwood is from the British Dental Association: "Years of failed contracts and underfunding have meant a growing number of dentists no longer see the NHS as a place to build a career.
"The pandemic has upped the ante, and we are now facing down an exodus .NHS dentistry is hanging by a thread, because without NHS dentists, there will be no NHS dentistry."
Jason Stokes is from the Cathedral Street Dental Practice in Norwich, agreed that contractual issues lie at the heart of all this: "The National Health Service contract which first came into being in 2006, was very rapidly acknowledged as not very suitable for either helping the public or actually for delivering a workplace environment that reduces stresses on dental work team and enabled them to provide care in the best possible way".
But he admits that the pandemic added to these existing issues: "Change can be something that you've got to learn to adapt to, but when everything changes practically overnight that's quite a psychological and physical burden and some practitioners have just said I don't want to work full time anymore or I want to bring forward my retirement, and that by it's very nature will reduce the workforce".
Mr Stokes fears that things may well get worse before they get better: "We've got the pandemic, which has meant that some people have left, we've also got some changes due to Brexit and that will really start to hit home quite significantly at the end 2022 because up until that point our colleagues from Europe can still get onto the dental register".
But he concluded by saying that there's hope for those in our region: "The early transformation work in the NHS contract, which is happening in the East of England, may provide some benefits that patients will be able to turn to, see and interact with in the relatively short-term.
"That's down to dental professionals and commissioners acknowledging there's a problem and looking for some solutions".
NHS England is tasked with commissioning dental services for many counties, their spokesperson told us: “The NHS has taken unprecedented action to support NHS dentists throughout the pandemic by providing additional funding for practices unable to deliver their usual levels of activity, alongside rapidly setting up 600 urgent dental centres across England so patient services could be maintained during the pandemic.
"People should continue to come forward for the dental care they need, and the care and treatment of people who need it most should be prioritised.”