BDA calls for greater dentistry funding in 2014

The British Dental Association (BDA) has called on the government to provide both general practice and salaried primary care next year.

Submitting evidence to the Doctors' and Dentists' Review Body, the industry body has demanded a "fair deal" for dentistry across the UK in 2014 that begins to address successive years of underfunding that have negatively impacted the sector.

It stated that various economic and funding-related policies in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have placed excessive pressures on dentists, threatened the viability of many practices and jeopardised care quality.

Cutbacks to dental academia are also undermining the future of UK dental research, while the availability of services for vulnerable patients is also under threat, according to the BDA.

Dr Robert Kinloch, deputy chair of the BDA's principal executive committee, said: "We need positive decisions that recognise and address the challenges facing dentistry and demonstrate to patients and practitioners alike that health service dentistry remains a priority."

This comes after the association recently published a study showing that 60 percent of salaried services dentists reported that patients are now waiting longer for initial assessment appointments.