Over 100 Oxfordshire dentists have formed a protest group in reaction to the detail of the new NHS dental contract details so far announced. The dentists, all from mixed practices, met to discuss the implications of the new contract.

Although treating adults privately, to date they have retained NHS services for certain priority groups such as children and/or benefit recipients, accepting that providing such a NHS service is subsidised by their majority private practice. Under the new proposals it is understood that this selective acceptance will no longer be allowed, effectively forcing private practices out of the NHS.

Growing from a conversation between two colleagues, the group quickly grew to eight members in 24 hours and then to 49 following the meeting one week later. Looking after 35,000 NHS patients in total, the dentists have written to the local Primary Care Trust pointing out that if they decide not to take up the new contract these patients will effectively be without access to NHS dental treatment. Local press and media interest spread the word and dentists in south Oxfordshire, the city of Oxford and north Oxfordshire have now joined the protest, swelling the number to over 100 dentists with 75,000 plus patients. Similar reaction in Cambridgeshire has meant that dentists there are poised to de-register thousands of patients in a similar protest.

Thanks to e-mail and Internet discussion groups dentists all around the country are being kept informed of developments as they happen, a facility that simply did not exist at the time prior to the introduction of the last major change of NHS dental contract in 1990/91. The Oxford group are pleased to hear from other colleagues with similar thoughts and may be contacted through Dr Gareth McAleer at Smileatbroadway@aol.com.