Charges will rise by an average of 2.3% from April (Image: Getty)
Patients needing a filling will pay £1.80 more from April, while the price of a check-up will rise by 60p, under planned increases to charges. Dentistry leaders have launched a petition calling for the hike to be abandoned, after it was revealed that charges in England will rise by an average of 2.3%.
Shiv Pabary, chair of the British Dental Association’s General Dental Practice Committee, described the increase as “reheated austerity”. She added: “It won’t put a penny into a struggling service. Our patients are paying more, just so Ministers can pay less. will need to justify her stealth cuts to millions of patients.”
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The changes mean the cost of a band 1 treatment like a check-up is set to rise from £26.80 to £27.40 from April 1.
The cost of a band 2 treatment, such as a filling, will rise from £73.50 to £75.30, and the cost of a band 3 treatment like fitting dentures from £319.10 to £326.70.
The BDA noted that the rises were below the level of inflation, but warned that the Government must not use the charges as a substitute for state investment.
It said NHS dentistry’s budget has been effectively static at around £3bn for fifteen years, with patient charges forming an ever-greater share of the total pot until the pandemic.
A petition launched by the BDA calls on Health Secretary and Chancellor Rachel Reeves to scrap the price hike. It reads: “Instead of hiking NHS fees, it’s time for the Government to come up with a proper plan to fund NHS dentistry for all.”
Matthew McGregor, chief executive at not-for-profit 38 Degrees, said: “Families across the country will be bracing themselves today at the news that they’ll soon be hit by a health bill hike during this ongoing crisis – and that’s if they’re lucky enough to even have access to an NHS dentist in the first place.
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“It’s the wrong move at the wrong time – especially as the extra price tag won’t result in the improvements in dental care so many of us are desperate for.”
Mr Streeting acknowledged in January that NHS dentistry was “at death’s door” as he promised that more appointments would be delivered “as fast as we can”.
More than 700,000 extra urgent dental appointments have been made available and the Government announced a nationwide scheme last week for .
The scheme will see up to 600,000 children aged three to five supported in nurseries and primary schools, targeting deprived areas of England.
Health Minister Stephen Kinnock pledged on Friday to “reform the dental contract to get dentists providing more NHS work as we fundamentally reform the sector through our Plan for Change so it is there for patients once again”.