The Scottish Liberal Democrats have said dentistry has been left to ‘rot’ as data shows 324 dentists have taken early retirement in Scotland since 2020.
Of 334 dentists who have retired since 2020, just 10 reached the state pension age. The number of dentists taking early retirement is increasing, with 84 retiring early in 2023 compared to 70 in 2022 and 57 in 2020.
At the time of reporting, 32 dentists had already taken early retirement in 2024. These figures were released to the Scottish Public Pensions Authority through a freedom of information request.
Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Alex Cole-Hamilton said working with the Scottish government on dentistry was ‘worse than pulling teeth’. He said: ‘The Scottish National Party (SNP) have left NHS dentistry to rot and people are in pain. In areas like Fife, there isn’t a single NHS dentist currently open to new patients.
‘Access to tooth care should be no different from any other form of medical treatment. People should be able to rely on treatment being readily available, close to home.
‘Instead we are seeing dentists retiring early or ditching NHS work because engaging with the Scottish government is worse than pulling teeth.’
‘Access to dental services remains more challenging’
A spokesperson from the Scottish government defended its stance towards dentistry in Scotland. They said: ‘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.
‘We recognise that in some areas, particularly rural areas, access to dental services remains more challenging. We continue to make available a range of additional financial support locally. This has enabled a newly opened surgery in a Dumfries and Galloway practice to see an additional 500 new NHS patients since August and register another 1,500 new patients.
‘We are urgently engaging with our counterparts across the UK on the actions required to enhance access to services through increased dental workforce capacity, including improved international pipelines.’
However, the Scottish Liberal Democrats suggested that the government was not giving adequate attention to dentistry.
Alex Cole-Hamilton continued: ‘Scottish Liberal Democrats are very proud of the part we played in introducing free dental checks in Scotland and in pressing for a new dental school to address the shortage of dentists. However, that good work is being undone by SNP ministers whose attention is always elsewhere.’
‘Scotland needs a 21st century service’
Last week, the BBC reported that six Scottish council areas now have no dental practices taking on new patients. Just one quarter of Scottish practices said they were offering appointments to new adult patients within three months.
David McColl, chair of the BDA’s Scottish Dental Practice Committee called for modernisation of NHS dentistry in Scotland. He said: ‘The Scottish government delivered needed reform, but we have been clear this can’t be the end of the road.
‘The simple facts are many patients are unable to access NHS care, while practices have vacancies they can’t fill. It’s two sides of the same coin.
‘Scotland needs a 21st century service in which dentists would choose to build a career. Ready to shift the focus from treatment to prevention.’
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