New government faces major challenges on dentistry, says BDA manifesto

The BDA suggests the next government will inherit a flawed dental contract, an unacceptable chasm in oral health inequalities, and inconsistent commissioning of dentistry by PCTS.

That's the legacy the government elected this year will have to deal with, according to the British Dental Association's (BDA's) manifesto for the forthcoming General Election, Smiles all round, which is published today (Monday 8 March).
 
The manifesto warns that the next government must get to grips with the process of developing new contractual arrangements based on the recommendations of the Steele Review, and do so while at the same time increasing access to NHS dental care and contending with an already stretched public purse.
 
Launching the manifesto, BDA executive board chair Dr Susie Sanderson said: 'Whoever is elected this year will inherit major challenges in dentistry. In England, we still have a deeply flawed dental contract, patients who are not seeing a dentist, and significant variations in the commissioning skills of primary care trusts. We are also confronted by unacceptable and growing oral health inequalities.
 
'But they will also inherit the beginnings of a new contract and a profession that cares deeply for its patients and that desperately wants a better future for them. The new government must work closely with dentists on the priorities identified in the BDA's manifesto to overcome these challenges.'
 
The BDA is urging members to talk to candidates where they practise about local issues.

The BDA's manifesto and advice on local lobbying are available at: www.bda.org/manifesto.

The manifesto identifies priorities in six key areas of dental policy: the completion of the reform process arising from the Steele Review, the need to properly support PCTs, increased access for patients, the eradication or oral health inequalities, harnessing fluoride as a preventive measure, and safeguarding the future of the hospital and salaried services and dental academia.