Wales increases NHS dental fees

CARDIFF, UK: The Welsh Government increased National Health Service (NHS) dental fees on April 1, and the British Dental Association (BDA) says it is possibly the biggest fee increase in the service’s 75-year history. Dentists say the increase could exacerbate oral health inequalities and lead to more patients pulling their teeth.

NHS fees in Wales for emergency oral care rose to £30.00 from £14.70 (€35.09 from €17.19*), a gain of more than 100%. The fee for a dental check-up has increased to £20.00 from £14.70 and the fee for dental restoration has increased to £60.00 from £47.00. The cost of dentures rose to £260.10 from £203.00. Children and adults on a low income get free dental check-ups in Wales, as do adults under 25 or over 60.

The BBC mentionted that the higher prices are still lower than what NHS patients pay in England; however, the BDA told a Press release that the impact of fee increases “could be profound given the depth of socio-economic and oral health inequalities in Wales”. The association called for urgent consideration of reforms to the current fee waiver thresholds to protect low-income patients with high oral care needs.

The Chair of the General Dental Commission for Wales, Dr Russel Gidney, told the BBC: “£30 for a toothache appointment is not insignificant.” He said low-income adults should seriously consider whether or not they can afford to access that level of care. He added: “You see stories of people losing teeth because they don’t have access to care, and we’re just going to see more and more of those stories come to an end with this fee increase.”

Cases of DIY dentistry in the UK during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic were highlighted by Dental Tribune International in 2020 and The guardian reported in late 2022 that it feared the practice would once again be on the rise, due to a lack of access to NHS services.

“One of my neighbors pulls out her teeth when things get really bad. She’s got three now,” Sarah Dickinson, a resident of Wales, told the BBC. In need of NHS dental care, Dickinson has been unable to access it since moving to Caernarfon from England. “I don’t see how the government can raise prices for the NHS when you can never get an appointment anyway,” he commented.

A Welsh Government spokesman told the BBC: “Despite the pressures on our budgets, we are continuing to increase dental funding”, noting that the increase was the first since 2020 and that funding for dental care had increased by 27 million pounds from 2018. .

Editorial note:

* Calculated on the OANDA platform on April 15, 2024.