South Scotland MSP Colin Smyth has warned that a new payment system for dentists won’t halt the current collapse of NHS dentistry in Dumfries and Galloway.

The comments come after the British Dental Association said the Scottish Government‘s proposals “fall short of the root and branch change required”.

A reformed payment system will be rolled out from 1 November 2023. This includes changes to the fees provided for many treatments and will see the number of items on the ‘menu’ at dental practices slimmed down to 45 codes down from around 400

The BDA have said these reforms offer “no fundamental changes” to the current model of care and said there was real uncertainty over whether these changes will be sufficient to halt the exodus of dentists from NHS services and restore access to millions.

NHS dental services in Dumfries and Galloway have been in crisis for a long time now, which thousands of patients de-registered from NHS services by difference practices across the region.

Last week NHS Dumfries and Galloway launched an online oral health advice service to help people struggling to access NHS dentistry, acknowledging the frustrations of local people, though the board also stressed that it wasn’t a substitute for seeing a dentist in real life.

South Scotland MSP Colin Smyth said: “For years Dumfries and Galloway’s dentists have been let down by the Scottish Government.

“More and more local dentists are deregistering NHS patients and the very future of NHS dental care in the region is now hanging by a thread.

“The double whammy of the UK Government’s Brexit, which has meant there are almost no EU dentists coming to the UK and the Scottish Government’s failure to properly fund dentists means I fully expect more dental practices to follow.

“Both Governments have been warned this would happen but have failed to take adequate action. Unless they wake up to the crisis, I fear no adult in our area will have an NHS dentist.

“The payment reform plans were meant to help but according to the British Dental Association, they fall far short of the mark and risk forcing more and more dentists into the arms of private practice.

“The very existence of NHS dentistry is in doubt and the government must listen to dentists and implement proper pay reform before access to dentistry becomes even worse.”