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December hike in NHS dental charges

Dentists have slammed the plan to increase NHS dental charges in England on 14 December – a hike that was postponed from 1 April during the first wave of the pandemic.

The five per cent increase is viewed by the British Dental Association (BDA) as another barrier to care for thousands of patients.

The changes include:

The BDA estimate more than 19 million appointments have been delayed since lockdown.

The BDA has long warned that costs are a major barrier to patients, even among those who are entitled to free care. Analysis of data from the government’s GP Survey indicates over 700,000 people had avoided seeking NHS treatment for reason of cost. The Adult Oral Health Survey has found that for 26% of the public cost had influenced the type of dental treatment they had opted to have and 19% had delayed dental treatment due to cost.

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