THE drive is on to attract more dentists to work in North Devon, but the NHS contract needs to change, local practitioners claim.

Speaking at a recent joint meeting of North Devon Council and Torridge District Council at Petroc College, Barnstaple, dentists from the area said there has been a mass exodus  into private care because the NHS contract from nearly 30 years ago is “flawed”.

And they claim the core service “flies in the face of the NHS” because it can’t be accessed by people who need it most.

Panellists North Devon orthodontists Chris Gooderham and Paul Oades and partner at the Torrington Dental Practice Ian Mills explained the challenges facing the sector, as well as answering questions from the committee and the public.

The meeting was organised after councillors were inundated with complaints about access to dentists and orthodontists.

According to NHS Devon, at the end of last year 6,287 people were on the NHS waiting list to see a dentist in North Devon and Torridge, 1,183 of whom were children.

The panellists said that doubling the dentistry budget would not fix the problems, citing recruitment and retention as two of the biggest factors.

But their main concern that was successive governments had continued with a contract brought in by Labour in 2006 where patients with high needs who may need numerous fillings, gum treatment and extractions and several appointments had to be treated at the same payment scale as someone who needed only one filling.

Chris Gooderham who transferred to orthodontics in 2010 because the system was better said he “took his hat off” to anyone who had continued with the general dentistry contract.

“Dentists get paid the same if they do one filling or 10, or one crown or three. It just cannot be done. The main exodus from NHS dentistry started in 2006 and it’s just got worse since. The only way dentistry will work is if this system goes.”

Ian Mills said people still wanted to study dentistry but by the time they finished training they did not want to work in the NHS.

He said the diffusion of dentists to the private sector was because they had lost trust and belief it would ever change.

And he highlighted the inequalities in dental care. “A core service is being delivered, but it is to the people who already have access to services not to the ones where the greatest burden of disease lies. It flies in the face of the NHS.”

He said 48,000 teeth are extracted from children every year, of which the vast majority are preventable.

“It’s an appalling experience for a child, no matter how skilled the physician, and it makes them anxious and unlikely to seek treatment until they are in pain again. They get into this cycle.”

The dentists said regular child dental surgeries  and visits to schools would be beneficial, which a boost in the workforce in North Devon area could enable.

Paul Oades said the council could help by promoting the area as a place to live and work for newly qualified dentists, who had the potential to earn a good living and a nice lifestyle.

They could help to lobby for change through local MPs, Devon ICB and NHS England.

Mr Mills added that despite the problems, he felt privileged as it was a “fantastic profession” where one could work flexibly anywhere in the UK and people are generally grateful for the treatment.

Torridge councillor Annie Brenton (Lab, Bideford West) said a health and wellbeing group had been formed as part of a review into the joint Torridge and North Devon local plan, which could look into dentistry.

Since the meeting, the councils have identified steps to improvement, from working with education providers to establish links to dentistry qualifications, to promoting oral health.

Chair of Torridge District Council’s external overview and scrutiny committee Cllr Cheryl Cottle-Hunkin (Lib Dem, Shebbear aand Langtree) said: “It is well documented that the sustained lack of dental provision across Torridge and North Devon has led to a critical reduction in health outcomes.

“As councillors, we are extremely concerned about the lack of NHS dentists and the massive impact it has on the community – especially when we hear horror stories of people resorting to DIY dentistry and the potential problems it is storing up for the future.”

Vice-chair of North Devon Council’s policy development committee Cllr John Patrinos (Ind, Lynton and Lynmouth) said: “We have heard concerning stories of people of all ages foregoing treatment or travelling across the country to see dentists in areas they previously lived.

“Our councils are committed to doing what we can to help mitigate and improve on these issues, working with the relevant health and education bodies wherever possible to achieve it.”

Alison Stephenson