Patients seen by NHS dentists fell by more than a third in December

The number of people seen by NHS dentists fell by more than a third between November and December, leading the Conservatives to claim the service has been “decimated”.

Figures from Public Health Scotland (PHS) show 245,501 patients were seen or had contact with an NHS dentist, down from 396,084 the previous month.

The number of dental treatments carried out on the NHS fell from 733,596 to 542,897 in the same period.

However there was an increase in the number of people registered with an NHS dentist, going from 5,198,226 in November to 5,200,865 in December.

A new system for treatment charges was introduced in November, with some prices going up.

It also changed general dental service check-ups from every six months to every year.

Scottish Conservative health spokesman Dr Sandesh Gulhane said: “These shocking statistics show that NHS dentistry has been decimated by this disastrous SNP government.

“It is clear that a succession of failed SNP health secretaries, including Humza Yousaf, have abandoned both NHS dentists and their patients, with the number of people being able to see a dentist falling by over a third in the space of a month.

“Despite an increase in the number of people registered in Scotland for NHS dental services, the number of NHS dental procedures that were performed in December last month fell by nearly 200,000.”

On Wednesday, the Scottish Liberal Democrats will lead a Holyrood debate on NHS dentistry.

Lib Dem MSP Willie Rennie accused Scottish ministers of “excruciating neglect”, claiming more than 300 constituents have come forward about their concerns in a number of days.

The Scottish Government said, due to the days of dental payment schedules and public holidays, there were fewer working days in December compared to November.

A spokeswoman said: “Data for November shows that 221,000 enhanced dental examinations were delivered under the new system which compares well with previous months.

“This indicates that the sector continues to deliver high volumes of patient access to NHS care through the free at the point of use enhanced examination.

“The payment changes introduced last year have been delivered to improve access to dental care across Scotland.

“It is clear from today’s data that there is engagement from the sector with payment reform, despite public holiday interruptions in December, and this will provide the platform for sustainable NHS provision going forward.

“Payment reform provides clinicians with a greater level of treatment planning flexibility to ensure patients receive the care they need.

“Treatment plans may take longer than one or two months to conclude and will be reflected more accurately in published statistics over a longer time period.”