Access to NHS Dental Services: What people told local Healthwatch

In 2015, we published a series of reports from across the Healthwatch network about people’s experiences of primary care services, including general practice, community nursing, pharmacy and dentistry. We identified a number of common themes, including variations in ease of access to services, and suggested areas for improvement, which were reflected in the GP Forward View, the Government strategy for improving quality of and access to GP services, published in March 2016.

With this evidence review we are sharing what local Healthwatch are hearing from patients to help dental professionals better understand people’s experiences, inform the development of the new dental contract and help ensure that user feedback plays a key role in the future regulation of the dental sector. The NHS dental contract will determine how NHS care is provided and paid for across England.

Although it seems that the majority of patients who want to access NHS dentistry are able to, local Healthwatch evidence suggests that three particular patient groups are at risk of missing out when it comes to accessing NHS dental care: 

People living in areas where commissioning of NHS treatment has not kept up with changes in demand; 

People in particular groups who may find it difficult to access high street dentists (such as care home residents); 

People who don’t currently go to the dentist at all, or who attend only when they are having problems