An insight into the rise of private dental practices in the UK
What will the future of private dentistry look like, as more people are choosing to make the shift from NHS dentists to private? Health Prem provides insight into this shift.
4 minute readIf, like me, you’ve been placed on a National Health Service (NHS) waiting list to register with the dentist, you are not alone. More and more people are finding it increasingly difficult to get a dental appointment, or any access to dental care in the UK through NHS dental services at all.
According to the British Dental Association (BDA), a staggering 90% of dentists are now actively turning away NHS patients. It didn’t used to be this way, but over the years things have changed.
Why is this? And, more importantly, what does this mean for the future landscape of dentistry in the UK? What are alternative options? Let’s explore these questions, by diving into the data and exploring the trends in the UK dentistry market, and the impact of private and independent dental care.
Why aren’t dentists taking on new NHS patients?
The NHS used to be the pillar of UK healthcare, with virtually all dentists covered by the NHS in the 90’s. Sadly, the story today is very different.
Due to several factors including an extremely high demand for services, an increase in costs, and limited resources that can be provided by the NHS, it means that many dental patients are now being turned away. Following the COVID19 pandemic, it has also become harder for the NHS to fill dental vacancies and the interest in students studying dentistry has also reduced significantly. In turn, there are a lack of dentists on the NHS.
According to the BDA, NHS Dental Contract negotiations with the government in 2006 meant dentists were paid £28 per “unit of dental activity”. This was the same amount regardless of the treatment type, some of which could be quite costly.
Understandably, dentists began to incur hefty fees from treating patients with complex issues, and as a result many began to switch from NHS contracts to private ones to cover costs. In 2008, the BDA even declared the NHS dentistry was unfit for purpose.
Due to this many people are now seemingly turning to independent or private dentists for their dental healthcare. Do the stats support this?
The Alternative: Private Dentists
Over the last 25 years, there has been significant growth in the private dentistry sector. From 2020 to 2022 alone, 3,000 dentists around the UK moved from the NHS to private dentistry.
It was only ten years ago that the market was completely saturated by NHS dentists. Now it’s the complete opposite - the number of private dentists is growing, as is the demand for their services.
With a private dentist you can be seen quickly, without having to worry about being on a long waiting list. There isn’t another choice if you need to be seen fast. The downside is that you have to pay more money to be seen, but statistics show that people are willing to pay for important things such as their dental healthcare, and that peace of mind can be priceless.
Has there really been a rise in the popularity of private dentists?
We know that the number of private dentists as risen, but just how significant is it?
Well, there are roughly 11,000 independent dental provider practices in England. These are private businesses that provide both NHS and private dental care. Data from the last ten years shows the rise in the number of private dentists. There was an increase of 10% of private general dental services between 2017 and 2020, with a 15% increase in private cosmetic work. This compared to only a 1.5% growth in NHS dentistry.
Ten years ago, NHS dental practices would have dominated the dental landscape with only a few independent practices. Now with the change of times people have also become more accustomed to private dental healthcare, and due to the lack of options is now seen as a more acceptable option. An estimated 15% of dental healthcare is made up of independent dental practices in the UK according to Denplan.
The rise of social media has also influenced more people to be self-conscious of their teeth, making it even more important to have that perfect smile. On a side note, have you ever heard of Turkey Teeth…?
Private dental practices can pay to run adverts on these platforms and attract more patients, who are looking for quicker treatments (some even on the same day), or special offers.
