'NHS' Blog Posts

• England: 4 things you need to know about where NHS dentistry goes next

  ​The pressure is building for real reform but requires ambition we’re yet to see from the Government.

  Blog Date 23 June, 2022

• Scotland: Prevention is key to the future of dentistry

  Kirsty Dickson, Dental Vocational Trainee, on the policy changes needed to reshape the future of dentistry.

  Blog Date 8 June, 2022

• England: Championing a bright future for associates

  Dentists’ deep frustrations with NHS dentistry are driving a move to private practice. We are making sure associates’ voices are heard, looking to ensure the system reform process results in meaningful changes for everyone.

  Blog Date 24 May, 2022

• England: The end of NHS dentistry as we know it?

  Thanks to our members we’ve been able to present the facts to MPs on what’s really driving the crisis in NHS dentistry.

  Blog Date 24 May, 2022

• England: Delays in NHS contract reform

  ​As NHS England drag their heels on contract reform “quick wins”, we want to tell the Parliamentary Health Committee what you think about the NHS exodus.

  Blog Date 12 May, 2022

• Scotland: Real contract reform negotiations needed now

  We’re calling for meaningful and long overdue contract reform negotiations with the Scottish Government as the profession faces an uncertain future.

  Blog Date 19 April, 2022

• Northern Ireland: It's time for radical change

  The crucial but perilous position of Health Service dentistry and contract reform in Northern Ireland.

  Blog Date 7 April, 2022

• Wales: GDS contract offer 2022-23

  A new contract or the UDA-only option, here’s an overview of the choices available to NHS dentists in Wales for 2022-23.

  Blog Date 3 March, 2022

• England: Update on NHS system reform

  ​NHS system reform is a complicated process. We have been pressing for change to the NHS contract in England for more than 15 years, so it was welcome news when the Government committed to meaningful reform last year.

  Blog Date 2 March, 2022

• Scotland: Preventing the collapse of NHS dentistry

  Opposition parties are joining our call for meaningful support and real reform.

  Blog Date 25 February, 2022

• Northern Ireland: The road to rebuilding NHS dentistry

  New Chair of the Northern Ireland Dental Practice Committee, Ciara Gallagher tells us about the work being done to reform and secure the future of NHS dentistry.

  Blog Date 15 February, 2022

• NHS dentistry: Winning the argument for reform

  Thanks to our members MPs are now pressing the government for urgent change. Real reform won't wait.

  Blog Date 14 February, 2022

• Calling it quits: only urgent change can save NHS dentistry

  A practice owner writes on why government must make immediate, meaningful changes to a rotten system.

  Blog Date 7 February, 2022

• NHS dentistry: I don’t want to leave, but I feel there is no choice

  Overstretched and underfunded many NHS dentists are already looking to the exit. MPs need to know that real reform won’t wait.

  Blog Date 2 February, 2022

• 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