Bradford South MP Judith Cummins on dentistry crisis

That was the dire assessment of Bradford South MP Judith Cummins as she relayed her huge concerns over access to dental care.

The Bradford South MP led a cross-party debate in the Commons where she called on the Government to take urgent steps before it’s too late.

Judith Cummins MP with trainee dentist (Image: Judith Cummins)

She said: “In Bradford, 98 per cent of dentists are closed to NHS patients, forcing people to go either to accident and emergency or to go private, whether they can afford to or not, often taking out a payment plan because they do not have the luxury of an NHS dentist available to them.

“In Bradford, 16 per cent of three-year-olds and over a third of five-year-olds are now suffering with visible signs of tooth decay.

“In Yorkshire and the Humber, over 2,700 children under 10 had teeth extracted in hospital between 2020 and 2021.”

She said NHS dentistry in its current form is “just not working anywhere for anyone”.

The MP added: “How did we get to this position? The answer is threefold: a contract not fit for purpose, dramatic underfunding and an exodus out of the NHS workforce.

“During my time in this place, Minister after Minister after Minister has stood here accepting that fundamental reform of the contract is needed. And yet we are still waiting.

“After years of delay, the Government announced in July some small contract changes, but unfortunately those quick wins completely failed on the fundamentals. NHS dentists in my constituency tell me that the financial uplifts are minor to the point of insignificance.

“The Government are conducting a polish and a clean when what is needed is root canal treatment.

“It is important to put on the record that the issue here is not a shortage of dentists. The number of registered dentists is at a record high.

“We have the dentists, but they are working in private practice. Until the Government fix the problems with the contract, which sees highly qualified and experienced dentists squeezed out of the system, they are simply pouring water into a bucket with a giant hole at the bottom of it.”

She also raised huge concern about funding cuts and added: “We saw funding to NHS dentistry fall by around a third in real terms over the last decade and that was before the cost of living crisis.”

Ms Cummins said targeted funding is needed to address problems in areas of high need.

She told the debate: “The successful Bradford project that I developed with former Ministers back in 2017 really worked.

“It was a transformative project that meant we got 4,200 extra NHS dental appointments for people who had not had a dentist appointment for over two years.

“In the long term, however, we need fundamental change, and a comprehensive reform of the contract to push prevention is absolutely critical to that reform. Good oral health must not be restricted by either postcode or wealth. Going to A&E cannot be an alternative to NHS dentistry.”

Ms Cummins urged: “We simply cannot go on like this. The public are fed up to the back teeth with inaction and excuses.”

Following the debate, Health minister Will Quince said he “got” the situation and added: “I know that in many parts of our country access to NHS dentistry is difficult or far more difficult than it should be, and I want to make it clear that dentistry is an incredibly important part of the NHS.

“The Government and I are committed to addressing the challenges that NHS dentistry continues to face across the whole country.”

He said a “number of important” steps are being taken to improve dental access “and make NHS dentistry a more attractive place for dentists and their teams to work in”.