Labour of love or just hard work? Dentistry puts Labour’s proposals for NHS reform under the microscope.
The Labour Party has promised to tackle the NHS dental crisis head on, with pledges to reform the NHS contract and introduce supervised toothbrushing in schools for three- to five-year-olds.
In a policy announcement ahead of the party’s annual conference in Liverpool, Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer made a number of promises, adding that ‘horror stories’ of DIY dentistry are ‘all too frequent’. The £111 million a year plans hinge on the abolishment of non-domicile tax status – the financial mechanism that allows people who live and work in Britain to pay their taxes overseas.
Starmer said: ‘People are finding it impossible to get an NHS dentist when they need one, with appalling consequences. Horror stories of DIY dentistry are too frequent.
‘My Labour government will not stand for millions of people being denied basic healthcare. To rescue dentistry from the immediate crisis, we will provide 700,000 more appointments a year to those in the most urgent need, recruit more dentists to areas with the most severe shortages, and protect children’s teeth.
‘But my mission-led government will always do more than fix the basics. We will reform the dental contract to rebuild the service in the long run, so NHS dentistry is there for all who need it.’
Response to the plan has been mixed, with healthcare professionals largely in favour – but teachers notably wary of the proposals.
Labour’s proposals
- Funding NHS dental practices to provide 700,000 more urgent appointments
- Incentives for new dentists to work in areas with the greatest need, to tackle the emergence of ‘dental deserts’ where no NHS dentists are taking on new patients
- Supervised toothbrushing in schools for three- to five-year- olds, targeted at the areas with highest childhood tooth decay
- ‘Reform’ to the dental contract to rebuild the NHS dental service in the long run
- The plans will cost £111 million a year in total and be funded by abolishing the ‘non-dom’ tax status that allows people claiming it to pay their taxes overseas.
Camilla Kingdon
President, Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health
As a children’s doctor, I know only too well the significant health and social consequences resulting from poor oral health. In 2022, 29% of five-year-olds in England had tooth decay. This is unacceptable in one of the richest nations in the world. It is a scandal that children living in the most deprived communities are unfairly and disproportionately impacted. We know poor oral health is entrenching existing inequalities yet tooth decay is entirely preventable.
That is why I and my colleagues across the medical profession have repeatedly called for action that enables positive oral health habits in children. The announcement that Labour will provide funding for a national targeted toothbrushing scheme for children is certainly positive. The evidence is clear that these schemes are effective and help to address inequalities. The future wellbeing and prosperity of our nation is dependent upon building a solid foundation of health for our next generation. Importantly, we know what works.
I urge all political parties to prioritise the prevention of ill-health in childhood.
Linda Greenwall
Founder, Dental Wellness Trust
It’s no secret that NHS dentistry is at a tipping point and needs fundamental reform. The situation hasn’t been helped by the pandemic whereby many dental practices were forced to close and have not reopened – therefore exacerbating things massively when it comes to patients accessing appointments and relevant treatment.
From the work that we do, we know that national strategies such as oral health prevention and toothbrushing programmes in schools and nurseries is one way of supporting this long overdue ‘prevention better than cure’ ethos and we call on the next government and local authorities for more urgent funding and support. Tooth decay remains one of the most common noncommunicable diseases worldwide yet for too long so many children have suffered unnecessarily.
Chris Groombridge
Chair, Teeth Team
As a charity dedicated to providing dental education in schools, we all too often see tooth decay that is largely preventable.
We therefore welcome Labour’s commitment to a toothbrushing programme for three- to five-year-olds to help them form healthy habits and protect kid’s teeth.
Paul Whiteman
General secretary, National Association of Head Teachers
This is not the immediate response needed to solve the mounting crises in school. We need to see greater ambition in the short, medium and long term. We have serious reservations about how such a policy could even work. It is not the role of teachers to be making sure children brush their teeth each day.
Schools already play a role in teaching children about the importance of looking after their teeth through the curriculum, but there has to be a limit in terms of what we can expect them to do. We should demand more than window dressing from all of our politicians.
Professor Claire Stevens
CBE Spokesperson, British Society of Paediatric Dentistry
This is a serious plan to both grip the immediate crisis and set NHS dentistry on the path to recovery in the long term. BSPD believes that every child should have a ‘dental home’ – an ongoing and preventively focused relationship with an NHS dentist. However, with children’s dental services in crisis, we urgently need to put a blanket of support around the most vulnerable children in our society.
We must recognise that, through no fault of their own, some children need greater help to get the oral health start in life that every child deserves. We therefore welcome these measures, as we know we need urgent action to address the persistent and immoral inequalities we see in children’s oral health. Intervening with a targeted supervised toothbrushing scheme is proven to deliver beneficial oral health outcomes that also pay for themselves severalfold in the future.
What are your thoughts on Labour’s proposal? Contact [email protected]
This article first appeared in Dentistry magazine.
Follow Dentistry on Instagram to keep up with all the latest dental news and trends.
