'NHS' Blog Posts

• NHS dentistry: How to stop an exodus

  ​The choices made by successive governments have sparked a flight from NHS dentistry. Only real reform can turn the tide.

  Blog Date 20 January, 2022

• Northern Ireland: Dental workforce challenges in 2022

  Roz McMullan, NI Council Chair, on the key challenges facing the dental workforce in NI over the next three years.

  Blog Date 20 January, 2022

• England: Standing together for change

  On dentists protesting shoulder to shoulder with patients to secure a dental service that works for all.

  Blog Date 20 October, 2021

• England: Ministers double down on NHS targets

  Government imposes harsher targets on NHS dental practices, but at least the door now appears open for real reform.

  Blog Date 29 March, 2021

• Big bang or damp squib? What the White Paper means for dentistry

  BDA Chair Eddie Crouch on what new reforms could mean for the future of dental care.

  Blog Date 17 February, 2021

• England: MPs unite against imposed targets

  Eddie Crouch on the unprecedented cross-party support our members have helped generate for our campaign against targets.

  Blog Date 20 January, 2021

• Coronavirus: An NHS practice owner on the future of NHS Dentistry

  A practice owner in Lancashire tells us how he set up two urgent dental centres and how the pandemic has exposed cracks in the funding of NHS dentistry.

  Blog Date 5 May, 2020

• What I wish I'd known about buying an NHS dental practice...

  Lauren Harrhy bought a mixed NHS dental practice two years ago in Wales. Here's what she wish she knew before taking the plunge...

  Blog Date 27 January, 2020

• The recruitment crisis in NHS dentistry needs to be addressed

  We were delighted to see Lord Colwyn addressing the House of Lords last week, raising the issue of the recruitment crisis that NHS dentistry is facing in response to proposed new legislation on public safety and regulation.

  Blog Date 7 November, 2019

• Is the issue of stress in dentistry finally being taken seriously?

  BDA President Roz McMullan responds to the news the Department of Health in England has finally extended access to all NHS dentists to the Practitioner Health Support Programme. She also looks at what similar provision is available in the other three UK countries.

  Blog Date 5 November, 2019

• MPs back our calls to sweep away 'Dogs breakfast' NHS dental patient fines system

  We're pleased the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has backed our calls for nothing less than wholesale reform of a system they've dubbed "unfit for purpose", but we still need to keep up fight for a fair and focused system that works for dentists and our patients, argues community dentist, Charlotte Waite.

  Blog Date 3 October, 2019

• Dentistry, the toothbrush and sustainability

  Anyone who watched the “Blue Planet” series with David Attenborough or more recently the “War on Plastic with Hugh and Anita” (Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall and Anita Rani) couldn’t help but be moved by the realisation that our reliance on plastics is causing havoc to the environment.

  Blog Date 11 July, 2019

• Mouth care for care home residents is not an optional extra

  As a special care dentist, I daily see the impact poor oral health has on quality of life and overall health for people living in care homes. We do see residents with excellent care are support with their mouth care but also see many people who are suffering unnecessarily as a result of poor oral health.

  Blog Date 1 July, 2019

• Teeth left to rot: The shocking state of oral health of people in care homes

  We responded to a new CQC report which shines a light on the lack of access to dentists and lack of support being given to care home staff. Reading the report makes for a grim and distressing read.

  Blog Date 26 June, 2019

• What can we do to make dentistry more sustainable?

  Is sustainability an issue for dentistry? Find out what you can do as a dentist to be more sustainable in your dental practice.

  Blog Date 4 June, 2019

• Celebrating the life of Eric Cooper: Colditz dentist and hospital dentist

  Peter Dyer celebrates the life of an 'unsung hero' of dentistry, Eric Cooper - who served as a dentist in Colditz, and went on to have a long and well-respected career in hospital dentistry. We celebrate his life in our latest temporary BDA Museum exhibition through some of the objects from his family's collection.

  Blog Date 2 May, 2019

• 5 things you need to know about NHS dental charges

  NHS dental charges in England go up on 1 April. We can take no pleasure in a system that acts as a cover for huge cuts and punishes those who need us most, writes Henrik Overgaard-Nielsen.

  Blog Date 1 April, 2019

• What’s the long-term plan for community dentistry? Three things you need to know...

  Community dentist Charlotte Waite sets out what she hopes the NHS Long Term Plan will mean for community dental services and for patients.

  Blog Date 26 February, 2019

• The future for NHS dentistry: 3 key priorities

  Why we are pushing for action from Government on NHS dentistry after access issues continue

  Blog Date 6 February, 2019

• YDC hacks #4: Getting ahead in dentistry

  You've recently qualified and you've got big plans for your future career. You don't have to do it all alone, here are some top tips from our Young Dentists Committee on getting ahead.

  Blog Date 23 January, 2019

• 5 things you need to know about the NHS 10 Year Plan

  Did dentistry make the final cut of the NHS plan? Mick Armstrong takes a look...

  Blog Date 16 January, 2019

• Do baby teeth matter?

  England Community Dental Services Committee Chair, Charlotte Waite, features in this short BBC World Service video about why baby teeth do matter.

  Blog Date 9 January, 2019

• Raising the profile of dentistry in Parliament: Christmas stockings and an open door

  An update from our Public Affairs Adviser Anna Wojnilko on the APPG for Dentistry and Oral Health Christmas reception in the House of Commons

  Blog Date 20 December, 2018

• Counting the cost of tooth extractions

  Shocking figures showing the number of full mouth clearances of children under 10, have hit the headlines again. BDA Board Chair, Mick Armstrong, says it time for more than just words from Government, and demands more investment in NHS dentistry to help save young patients' teeth.

  Blog Date 4 December, 2018

• Improving NHS dentistry: giving dental patients better access and outcomes

  We feel that dentistry is often forgotten when it comes to getting a share of NHS funding, but we've set out to Government why we feel committing more resources to NHS dentistry can massively improve oral (and general) health outcomes for patients.

  Blog Date 5 November, 2018

• Speaking up for dentists at party conferences

  We travelled to Liverpool and Birmingham to make the case for dentistry at the Labour and Conservative party conferences

  Blog Date 17 October, 2018

• The latest on pay uplifts: fundamental reform needed

  It is now time for a sweeping reform of the pay review process, argues our Vice Chair Eddie Crouch.

  Blog Date 3 October, 2018

• New powers must begin to address dental policy logjam

  We have written to the Permanent Secretary at the Department of Health, calling for urgent sign-off on key decisions relating to dentistry.

  Blog Date 3 October, 2018

• Worrying trends: the fall in earnings for dentists in Scotland

  The Scottish Government's recent below-inflation pay award of two per cent to general dental practitioners will be of little comfort to a profession grappling with a crisis of morale, writes Scottish Dental Practice Committee Chair, David McColl.

  Blog Date 5 September, 2018

• Action is needed on protected slots for urgent dental care

  Nick Stolls says there is a need for more urgent care slots to be commissioned to ensure dental patients can be treated quickly and appropriately, especially out-of-hours.

  Blog Date 7 August, 2018