MP Bill Esterson has criticised a rise in NHS charges for dental treatment, calling the increase a “tax on teeth”.
The price hike, which began on April 1, has added £1.10 to the cost of a routine check-up, which will now cost £22.70, and £12.80 to a set of dentures, which will now cost £269.30.
The British Dental Association (BDA) said the Government had slashed state spending in NHS dentistry and that charges had become a “proxy for state investment”.
Central funding for NHS dentistry in England has fallen by more than £500 million in real terms since 2010.
Mr Esterson said charge hikes were being used to “plug the gap”.
He said: “This is no more than a tax on teeth and is a result of huge cuts to the NHS dentistry budget which has pushed the cost onto patients. Price rises are not in the interests of patients or dentists, as it will only dissuade some people from having routine treatment, which could lead to far worse problems being stored up for the future. An increase in emergency treatment could end up costing the NHS more.”
The BDA reports that in 2006 under the last Labour Government, £35 per person was spent on dental care in England, which was more than in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
According to the BDA, that figure now stands at £36 per person in England. In Wales it is £44, while it is £52 in Scotland and £57 in Northern Ireland.
Mr Esterson said: “What the BDA are saying is that these price hikes will not put one penny more into frontline services. The increase is just to cover what the Government has refused to put in to cover cuts and inflation increases.
“Charges are designed to discourage attendance, but now serve as cover for savage cuts.
“The BDA also say that a million patients are unable to find an NHS dental appointment.
“It could get to a point where patients are paying more than the Government itself – that is not a national health service. That is a privatised dental service. This must not be allowed to happen as it is a drip drip effect which could mean other health services being charged for at the point of delivery.”
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