A million more patients have lost their NHS dentist

The Government's chief dental officer admitted yesterday that Labour's botched introduction of a contract designed to increase the number of NHS dentists had had precisely the opposite effect.

Dr Barry Cockcroft revealed that 500 of the 21,500 dentists previously offering NHS treatment had refused to sign new contracts and were taking only private patients.

With the average patient list of around 2,500, that would mean

1.25million had lost their NHS dentist.

The Conservatives put the figure even higher, claiming that 1.4million fewer patients are registered with an NHS dentist in England than in the year before the new contract began in April 2006.

Conservative health spokesman Andrew Lansley said yesterday: "NHS dentistry has reached crisis point thanks to the Government's failure to negotiate a workable contract."

A spokesman for the Citizen's Advice network said as many as two million people were going without treatment each year because they could not find a dentist taking NHS patients and could not afford to go private.

Liz Phelps added: "The shocking truth is that despite all the assurances that the situation is improving, there has been no overall increase at all in the number of patients seen by NHS dentists in the first year of the reforms."

The figures make a mockery of the pledge made by Tony Blair eight years ago that everyone would have access to an NHS dentist.

Dr Cockcroft, the Government's most senior dental adviser for England, suggested that patients with good oral health might have less frequent than six-monthly check-ups, freeing appointment slots for others.

Some health experts have claimed, however, that lengthening the gap between appointments could increase the threat of mouth cancers and other problems.

In a report on the first year of the new contract, Dr Cockcroft admitted there were 500 fewer NHS dentists in March this year than in March 2006. NHS dentists saw 47,000 fewer patients than the year before.

He added: "The numbers are significantly higher than the 18,800 dentists providing NHS services in March 2003."

The new contract was introduced in 2006 to change the way dentists were paid and increase the number who took on NHS patients. But it has been beset by problems, with dentists claiming they were not properly paid for the work they did.

A recent survey by Which? found that more than half of dentists had closed their doors to NHS patients in response to the new contract.

For the first time in the history of the Health Service, dentists are earning more from private patients than they are from NHS ones.

The dash for private patients has pushed average earnings up 11 per cent in a year to £86,000.

The Liberal Democrats criticised the report as "Orwellian" and "a total whitewash" for claiming the contract had improved services for patients overall.

British Dental Association chief executive Peter Ward said: "By the Government's own admission, we now have fewer NHS dentists and access to care for patients remains patchy. This is not a picture of success and confidence.

"The Government must start listening to the profession and patients if local commissioning is to provide the services that local communities deserve."

Health Minister Ann Keen said: "The local NHS now has, for the first time, both a statutory duty to provide dental services and the flexibility needed to develop services that fit local needs.

"In many areas, patients are already seeing the results of this in new or developed services."