According to a poll conducted among 1,104 dentists in England, 43% of them think the measures will result in fewer patients being seen by them, while 54% stated the number of NHS patients they see will not change.
Last month, the government announced its £200 million strategy to support NHS dentistry in England.
But according to a recent British Dental Association survey, 75% of dentists don’t think the proposal will make it easier for new patients to use the NHS.
Conversely, 93% of respondents claimed that the plans lack the ambition necessary to address the scope of the problem that NHS dentistry faces.
“NHS dentistry has been in crisis for some time, with many people unable to access an NHS dentist and not having the means to pay for private care,” stated Chris McCann of Healthwatch England.
“We’ve yet to see any official data on how well the plan is working, but it’s concerning to hear that so few dentists appear to have confidence that it will.”
