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Is there a need for private paediatric dentistry in the UK?

BDJ In Practice volume 36, pages 12–13 (2023)Cite this article

While most dental appointments for children and young people across the UK occur in the practice setting with general dental practitioners, the vast majority of paediatric dentists in the UK work primarily in community dental services, hospital dentistry or academia. But where does private paediatric dentistry fit in to the UK picture? Why is it required? What might the private sector offer children and families that other services cannot? And what drives some paediatric dentists to go into private practice?

The most obvious need for families accessing private paediatric dentistry at present is ready access and shorter waiting times, particularly at a time when NHS dental services are still struggling with the aftermath of the pandemic and the lack of routine and preventive dental care delivery during that time and subsequently. According to NHS dental statistics, only 56% of children in England saw an NHS dentist in 2022/23.1

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Reference

  1. NHS Digital. NHS Dental Statistics for England, 2022-23, Annual Report. Available online at: https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/nhs-dental-statistics/2022-23-annual-report (accessed November 2023).

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  1. Leeds Dental Institute, Leeds, United Kingdom

    David Auld

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  1. David Auld
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Correspondence to David Auld.

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Auld, D. Is there a need for private paediatric dentistry in the UK?. BDJ In Pract 36, 12–13 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41404-023-2227-z

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