SNP Ministers must commit to a return to regular dental check-ups for every Scot, the Scottish Conservatives will demand this week.
The party will hold a debate and vote in Parliament on Wednesday calling for a better funding deal to start tackling “enormous” dental backlogs.
Shadow Health Secretary Dr Sandesh Gulhane will lead the debate and urge SNP Ministers to guarantee every Scot will once again be able to get a dental check-up every six months this year.
Public Health Scotland stats show there were over 850,000 fewer appointments in the last two years compared to before the pandemic.
The problem is particularly acute in the most deprived areas where fewer than half of adults saw their dentist during the Covid crisis, and only 55 per cent of children did so.
Dentists have also warned SNP Health Secretary Humza Yousaf of a ‘mass exodus’ from dental practices if crucial Covid-related funding is withdrawn on April 1.
Scottish Conservative Shadow Cabinet Secretary for Health, Dr Sandesh Gulhane MSP, said: “As we look beyond the Covid pandemic, we need to urgently see a plan from SNP Ministers to return dental services and check-ups for patients back to normal.
“The backlog of appointments that have built up during the pandemic is sitting at an enormous level and has spiralled out of control.
“Funding and measures must be put in place now to help dentists tackle the backlog.
“Our debate will call on the SNP to guarantee every dental patient in Scotland will have a dental check-up every six months this year.
“There is a real risk that one of the legacies of Covid will be a rise in dental inequalities, as our deprived communities have been hit the hardest during the last two years.
“Dentists are warning Humza Yousaf of a cliff edge scenario that they think could see a mass exodus from the health service, leaving many people with little access to dental care, unless the health secretary listens to these concerns."
Notes:
Dental leaders described the backlog as enormous in a BBC feature last week: Concerns over 'enormous' backlog for NHS dentistry - BBC News
Dentists warned Humza Yousaf of a mass exodus in November if Covid-related funding was withdrawn: https://news.stv.tv/scotland/withdrawing-covid-funding-risks-exodus-of-dentists-from-nhs