Only two dentists in the Fermanagh and Omagh area are taking on new adult NHS patients, stark new research has revealed.

Some 90 per cent of dentists in the area are not taking on such patients, according to new research by the BBC, and of the 20 dental practices with an NHS contract in the district which were contacted by the researchers, only two are taking on new adult NHS patients.

Between May and July, BBC researchers reached out to every UK dental practice with an NHS contract to ask if they were taking on new patients, with the research revealing the troubling dentist access figure for the Fermanagh and Omagh region.

Working with the British Dental Association (BDA), the researchers found that in Northern Ireland (NI), in addition to the near total block on taking on new adult NHS patients, 88 per cent of NI NHS practices were not accepting new child patients, 241 of 274.

Of those practices not taking on adults in NI, 20 per cent (48) said they had an open waiting list, and 11 per cent (28) said the wait time was a year or longer, or were unable to say how long it would be.

Fermanagh

The escalating cost of living crises are hitting both dental patients and practises alike. In County Fermanagh, depending on their dental practice, patients who are not NHS patients could pay anywhere between £25 and £49 for a private check-up.

One local known to this reporter said: “With the ongoing cost of living crisis, I think for a lot of people – myself included – have put going to the dentist at the bottom of the priority list.

“I do believe that everyone should have it [guaranteed dentist access] subsidised as part of the NHS, especially for essential care, but I know very few people [in Fermanagh] who have their dentistry work subsidised by the NHS.

“With the cost of living crisis, and budgets being tightened, it means that if you have a [dental] problem you can run up the cost if you need to visit the dentist a couple of times.

“I would be concerned if people felt with the current climate that they would rather ignore any problems in order to save a bit of money.”

NHS dentists – who work as independent contractors – have seen incomes fall by 40 per cent in real terms since 2008/09.

Practices are confronting soaring costs, with ‘dental inflation’ now estimated at more than 11 per cent, meaning many face the prospect of delivering NHS care at a financial loss.

A process has recently begun with the Department of Health to take forward work on a new contract for High Street health service dentistry; however, there remains huge uncertainty about whether the level of investment needed for this service to survive will be forthcoming.

‘Concerning’

Reacting to the statistics, Fermanagh South Tyrone Sinn Féin MLA and Health Spokesperson Colm Gildernew said: “The findings of this investigation are concerning. Almost 90 per cent of practices in the North are not accepting adults and children for dental care.

“Ensuring people can see a dentist when they need one through the NHS must be the priority – not based on their ability to pay for private treatment.

“Plans by the Department of Health to develop a scheme to improve access to urgent and emergency dental care for unregistered patients must also be progressed, alongside a strategy for oral health.”

Ciara Gallagher, Chair of the BDA’s Northern Ireland Dental Practice Committee, said: “We can only hope dental care in Northern Ireland has not yet reached the point of no return.

“Dentists are already moving on, and practices are struggling to remain viable, because the numbers [that NHS] dentistry is based on simply don’t add up.

“This postcode lottery our patients now face will only end when we see real reform backed up by fair funding.”