Large percentage of Scottish people ‘missing out on NHS dental care’

A significant number of Scottish people are not getting the NHS dental care they require, according to a new report.

Figures from NHS Scotland's Information Services Division shows that although 4.9 million people – or 92 percent of Scots – are registered with a dentist, 1.4 million of these registered patients have not actually seen an NHS dentist within the last two years.

Adding unregistered patients to this total brings the total number of NHS non-attenders to around 1.8 million, with those from more deprived areas shown to be more likely to be missing out on dental care.

Participation rates have been falling since registration rules were changed in 2007. A decade ago, 99 percent of the 2.5 million patients who were registered had contact with their dentist, which is a far cry from the current numbers.

This is a pressing issue given that oral cancer incidence rates for both men and women are significantly higher in Scotland than in England or Northern Ireland.

Robert Donald, chair of the BDA's Scottish Dental Practice Committee, said: "Scotland can take pride in what it's achieved when it comes to fighting decay among children; now ministers must show some of the same determination to get adults, particularly those from deprived communities, to attend."

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