Student dentists turned off by public sector work

THE crisis in NHS dentistry is set to get worse, dentists warned yesterday, after a survey revealed that 97 per cent of aspiring dentists do not want to work solely in the public sector.

Scots already face difficulties getting dental treatment on the NHS as dentists desert the service in order to work in the private sector.

Just two weeks ago, almost 1,000 patients were forced to queue to sign up as private patients at a dental practice in Aberdeenshire after another three dentists quit the NHS.

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Now a survey from Dundee University has shown only 3 per cent of dental school applicants expect to work exclusively within the NHS, while more than double that amount expect to go exclusively private.

Dentists said the survey showed a "bleak future" for NHS patients in Scotland as a new generation of dentists provide less time for NHS patients.

The questionnaire of 464 dental undergraduates at Dundee and Manchester found 65 per cent of applicants wanted to enter general dental practice, 15 per cent intended to go to the hospital dental service, with the remainder split between community dental services, armed forces, and those who remained undecided.

Of the 65 per cent looking to enter general dental practice, only 3 per cent of them wanted to work exclusively within the NHS, with 90 per cent expressing a wish to work in a mixed NHS/private practice and 7 per cent in private practice.

Dr John Drummond, who carried out the research, said applicants detect "considerable problems" within NHS dentistry during work shadowing.

He said current funding for NHS dentists meant they have to take dozens of patients a day in order to survive. "The young dentists realise that within the NHS they will have to work at a pace and in a style where they cannot serve their patients properly, and moreover realise that it is not perhaps for them to work like that for the rest of their lives," he said.

Dr Drummond said the figures were particularly worrying because most dentists who start off in a mixed practice tend to spend more time with private patients in the long term.

"The future for patients in the NHS will be bleak unless there is an improvement in NHS dentistry to attract young people to have careers within the NHS."

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Robert Donald, chairman of the British Dental Association’s Scottish Dental Practice Council, said dentists are forced to go private in order to make enough money to provide a decent service for patients.

And he said dental students will follow this trend unless the Executive provides more money for training and equipment.

In March the Executive announced a boost in the yearly budget for dentistry to 350 million by 2008. But the BDA claims the budget needs to rise to at least 550 million to keep enough dentists in the NHS.

Shona Robison, the SNP’s health spokeswoman, also called for more funding: "We must work harder to make the NHS more attractive to prospective dentists before the NHS dental services plunge deeper into crisis."

Ian Swan, a fourth-year dental student at Glasgow University, said few students planned to work exclusively for the NHS under current conditions.

He said: "I feel I should do some work on the NHS to give back from what I have learned because the government paid for me to go to university. But I would not want to do it exclusively. I do not know anyone who wants to work solely for NHS practices."

However, Mr Swan, 22, said more students would work in the NHS with better pay and working conditions.

Rhona Brankin, the deputy health minister, said:

"We are introducing a wide range of incentives to ensure that NHS dentistry is an attractive option for dental graduates. I am convinced that these measures will make a real improvement to Scotland’s oral health."

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