The election countdown: What the upcoming election means for dentistry and Denplan

By Catherine Rutland, Clinical Director at Denplan

Last month, Rishi Sunak fired the starting gun on the election campaign by calling a snap election on the 4^th of July. The announcement of a summer election took many by surprise, raising questions on what the next few months hold, and what we should be paying attention to, to ensure dentistry is prioritised in policy as we step into the next parliamentary term.

Dentistry is firmly on the agenda, but remains misunderstood

Across the political spectrum, we’ve heard ‘grand plans’ to ‘save dentistry’. Preet Gill, the Shadow Minister responsible for dentistry, emphasised that the “future of NHS dentistry will be on the ballot paper" at the next election. While new legislation is now on hold, manifestos published last week reaffirmed Labour’s commitments to offer incentives to attract new dentists to underserved areas, introduce supervised toothbrushing for young children and reform the dental contract. The Conservative manifesto largely echoed these pledges and reiterated commitments made in their Dental Recovery Plan, including “golden hellos” for incoming dentists and expanding tooth brushing schemes for children. The Liberal Democrat manifesto committed much of the same – a focus on NHS care and supervised toothbrushing schemes.

While this report is a step forward, we know more needs to be done to address the wider issues the profession is facing outside of contract reform. The NHS Long Term Workforce plan does not go far enough to identify how we can attract and retain the next generation of dentists and dental team members and we also want to see further detail on the provision of additional funding for dental training for all team members.

We will continue to engage with government and key policy makers on the issues you raise with us to influence and educate on the support private dentistry can provide to the NHS and the UK population.

What happens now?

With Parliament now dissolved, former MPs are now once again prospective parliamentary candidates (PPCs), and though they can still engage with constituents and businesses, their focus will largely be on campaigning. No new legislation will be passed, though the ongoing consultations on overseas registration and NHS tie-in proposals will continue, albeit with limited publicity. The extent to which a new Government will adopt the consultation responses and recommendations remains uncertain.  

Given the scale of the crisis in access to dental care, it’s unlikely that dentistry will fall off the political agenda, especially in areas where access to dentistry is particularly poor. On the doorstep, PPCs are hearing that access to dental care is a leading issue for their constituents. Through the manifestos, we now have a clearer view of the ambitions each major party have to tackle this crisis and how these might measure up to what is needed in order to have tangible impact on the oral health of the nation. During this time, and beyond, dentists are in a unique position to engage with these candidates, sharing their experiences of the challenges facing dentistry so they can comprehensively address the issues their electorate are facing. 

Collectively, we’re leading the conversation around the vital role of mixed and private practice

At Denplan, we are proud to be the representative voice for our 6,700 member dentists, leading the conversation around the vital role of mixed and private practice in ensuring accessible dental care. Over the last six months, we have engaged with MPs from all parties to advocate for policies that will have a tangible impact on the daily lives of both our members and patients. Although some of these meetings have been postponed until after the election, we look forward to collaborating with the incoming cohort of parliamentarians, equipping them with the resources needed to drive policies that secure a sustainable dental landscape in the UK.

We recognise that our members are often best placed to lead these conversations and are committed to providing you with the resources needed to support your efforts in this area. In the meantime, you can expect regular updates from us as we monitor and respond to developments in the run-up to the election, providing insights into what this means for dentistry.