Scotland’s Dental Crisis: Over 2 Million Patients Skip Check-Ups for 2 Years!
Scotland is currently facing a staggering dental crisis, with nearly two million adults and 200,000 children skipping their check-ups over the last two years. Yes, you read that right! This shocking reality unveils a healthcare system in turmoil, with almost 40 percent of those registered at dental practices unable to get the care they so desperately need.
The latest data from Public Health Scotland, unearthed through freedom of information requests, paints a grim picture: 1.8 million adults and 177,318 children have gone without seeing a dentist since 2022. But the numbers don’t stop there—over 80,000 children and a quarter of adults haven’t visited a dental professional in the last five years. To make matters worse, more than half a million adults haven’t had a check-up or treatment in a decade!
In a desperate bid to address their dental woes, some Scots are resorting to ‘DIY dentistry,’ while others are forced to fork out for private care, as access to public dental services dwindles to almost nothing. A recent study revealed that 22.4 percent of children entering their first year of school in Scotland are already suffering from untreated decay. The need for urgent action has never been more apparent.
Over 200,000 children registered with a dentist have not seen one in two years.
Scottish Liberal Democrats leader, Alex Cole-Hamilton, is calling for immediate action from the SNP to remedy this crisis. He passionately stated, “These figures clearly show that being registered with a dentist means nothing without real accessibility. An alarming number of children and adults are not receiving the dental care they need.” He continued, “On the SNP’s watch, a quarter of P1 pupils are suffering from tooth decay, and people are resorting to extreme measures like DIY dentistry—buying tools off Amazon to do their own dental work!”
David McColl, chairman of the British Dental Association’s Scottish dental practice committee, emphasized that the government needs to focus on participation, not just registration. He warned, “Scotland faces widening oral health inequalities.”
The pandemic has exacerbated these issues, with NHS dental services temporarily shut down and many dentists leaving the system due to financial strain. From 2019 to 2024, Scotland saw a decline in NHS dentists from 3,407 to just 3,240.
In a startling revelation, six council areas in Scotland have been deemed ‘dental deserts,’ where no practices can take on new adult NHS patients within three months. With public dental appointments scarce, many Scots are draining their savings for private care or even resorting to self-treatment, often ending up in already overwhelmed A&E departments for dental emergencies. Between April 2021 and June 2024, over 11,783 calls to the NHS24 hotline resulted in patients being directed to A&E for dental pain relief.
As one Scottish Government spokesman stated, “Almost 95 percent of the population are registered with an NHS dentist, and 60 percent of those have seen a dentist in the last two years.” But is that enough? The reality on the ground tells a different story.
