People up and down the country are being left unable to access dentistry because of ‘eye-watering’ increases in private fees, research has warned.
Prices for dental treatment have risen dramatically over the last two years, with patients now paying between 14% and 32% more for the same treatments than in 2022, according to research by MyTribe Insurance, which tracks the cost of private health insurance and also different types of paid-for healthcare across the UK.
The research, published in The Guardian newspaper, found patients are often now paying as much as £775 for root canal work, £435 to have a tooth out, and £325 for a white filling.
“For patients struggling to access NHS dental care, and for those who choose to go private, the dramatic rise in private dental costs places essential care out of reach for many,” Rachel Power, chief executive of the Patients Association, told the newspaper.
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“This creates a dangerous cycle where patients bounce between an inaccessible NHS system and unaffordable private care, while their oral health deteriorates. The stark reality is that many are left with no viable route to essential dental treatment,” she added.
The MyTribe Insurance analysis of six common treatments, from 450 private dental practices in 52 UK towns and cities, found that the average cost of a white filling has gone from £105 to £129, up 23%.
An extraction has risen from £105 to £139, 32% more. A half-hour scale and polish is now £75, up from £65, a 15% jump. And an initial consultation for a new patient is up 23% from £65 to £80.
A routine check-up has gone from £48 to £55 – a 15% rise – while the average cost of anterior root canal treatment has increased by 14%, from £350 to £400.
There is also something of a postcode lottery. To have a tooth out, you can pay £435 in the east of England, and £350 in the south-east and south-west. For a white filling in the east of England you have to fork out £325, the Guardian report said.
One in five people, and two in five of those on lower incomes, already avoid going to the dentist in England because it costs too much, according to a survey by Healthwatch. The recent increases in private treatment costs are “alarming”, it said.
Eddie Crouch, the chair of the British Dental Association, which represents dentists, said “huge inflationary pressures” on dental practices, including the cost of energy and laboratory bills, and increased costs stemming from the budget, helped explain the price hikes.
But private practices also charge higher prices to help cover the cost of treating NHS patients, as the fees they receive do not cover the outlay involved, he said.
“Private practices have an option to reflect cost increases in their prices. NHS charges are fixed but a generation of poor funding means many treatments are now being delivered at a financial loss,” Crouch added. “Private dentistry has effectively cross-subsidised loss-making NHS care.”
Dentists claim they have been doing more and more private work in recent years since the fees they receive for providing NHS-funded treatment have not kept up with rising costs.
Responding to MyTribe’s research, Neil Carmichael, executive chair of the Association of Dental Groups (ADG), told the newspaper the widespread shortage of dentists was also pushing prices up.
“This is the classic outcome from having huge demand with limited supply,” he said. “The ADG has been flagging for some time that overall dentistry requires a further 3,000 or more dentists across the NHS and private sectors.
“This huge gap means that access to all dentistry is reduced. So, with the continued demand from patients and as overhead costs increase, it is inevitable that there is an upward pressure on prices.”
A spokesperson for the Department of Health and Social Care said: “This government is committed to rebuilding NHS dentistry, but it will take time. We will start with an extra 700,000 urgent appointments to help those who need it most, and reform the dental contract to encourage more dentists to offer NHS services to patients.”
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