Proposed NI dentist funding ‘disappointing’

The British Dental Association (BDA) has said the very survival of health service dentistry depends on radical transformation, but proposals announced by the health minister are “not it”.

On Wednesday Mike Nesbitt provided details of a £7m investment in General Dental Services for 2025/26.

The Chair of Northern Ireland Dental Practice Committee has said dentists were “hoping for more” following the proposed dental funding.

Ciara Gallagher added she understood the budgetary constraints that Mike Nesbitt is working under but she is “disappointed” for patients and colleagues.

Nesbitt also announced the expansion of the Happy Smiles programme.

The health minister stated: “Alongside these specific interventions, I am clear that the General Dental Services, as with other services, require sustained effort to ensure sustainability over the longer term.

“My department is committed to advancing work on the long-term future of dental services, to ensure patients can continue to access care when they need it, whilst taking measures to ensure the service is sustainable.

“I have approved the commissioning of a General Dental Services cost of service review to be completed in 2025/26. This will in turn provide a robust evidence base to inform how the service will develop over the coming years.”

Ms Gallagher said the funding is “largely a continuation” of measures that are already in place and it will make “even more difficulties for patients to access care”.

“That’s why we cannot recommend these proposals as they stand to the profession,” she said.

“We urgently need radical transformation of dental services here, but this isn’t it. Despite the efforts of the minister, our question to the Executive is how can dentistry be transformed with such a constrained health budget?”

The BDA has called for immediate short-term ‘bridging’ support for dental practices as a lifeline to cover costs.

This follows a meeting with the health minister who outlined his department’s proposals for 25/26 to BDA representatives, following a debate on access to dentistry in Stormont on 27 May.

The BDA said that the “consensus is that the current dental contract isn’t fit for purpose and in some instances fails to cover costs”.