As British dental system decays, patients go abroad in record numbers

Parks is one of thousands of British people going to Europe for dentistry. Where once they travelled for cosmetic work to achieve the perfect smile, now many are going for basic dental treatment that they cannot get in Britain.

"I think it's just a sign of the times... it is becoming the norm now," she told Reuters from her home in eastern England, prior to the trip.

Famously the butt of jokes about bad teeth, Britain has a shortage of dentists, ranking third from bottom among the OECD's 22 mostly rich nations in terms of access in 2021.

Problems with a central funding system have compounded the problem, meaning millions of people cannot access a low-priced dentist in the UK's state-run National Health Service (NHS).

With the cost of private dentistry prohibitive for many, the crisis has added to a sense of decay in Britain, where a treasured national institution like the NHS is in crisis, with staff on strike, and the cost of living rocketing.

Media reports have detailed cases of people pulling their own teeth out and charities have warned that other ailments will be missed if people do not see a dentist regularly.

There are no official statistics on dental tourism from Britain but interviews with five companies in the highly fragmented industry show UK dental tourism is either at record highs for those companies or growing rapidly.

Parks' Tower Dental clinic in Istanbul has treated more than 500 British patients this year, up from 200 in 2022, and it expects that to continue to grow, helped in part by a weak Lira.

Other dental companies operating across Turkey and in Hungary and Romania said they were seeing strong UK demand.

Eddie Crouch, the chair of the British Dental Association (BDA), told Reuters that the closure of British clinics during COVID lockdowns created a huge backlog and people were no longer just going abroad for cosmetic work.

"I'm hearing that many patients are going abroad simply to access general dentistry," he said.

Vedat Etemoglu, who manages the Tower Dental clinic used by Parks, said there was a "staggering difference" in Turkish and UK dentistry bills when an NHS dentist is not available.

Parks has an NHS dentist but the service only provides implants in rare cases - such as when a patient has had mouth cancer - due to the cost. "Implants are usually only available privately and are expensive," the NHS website says.

She was quoted 5,000 pounds for two implants by a private clinic in Britain, as opposed to Turkey where she will pay 923 pounds for treatment including an extraction. The bill includes the cost of accommodation. A return flight costs less than 200 pounds.

The BDA industry body says the UK system no longer works due to a dental contract which the government introduced in 2006.

It says the payment structure does not distinguish between the complexity of treatments. As a result, many dental practices operate on a loss and supplement NHS income with private work. Some simply leave the service, reducing access for patients.

"We have a contract that isn't fit for purpose," BDA's Crouch said. "We have a workforce that is leaving in large numbers." He puts the number of those unable to access an NHS dentist at 12 million.

Parliament's health committee has said reform of the contract is essential. The government did not comment on the 2006 contract but said it would "shortly" set out further measures to improve access to NHS dentistry.

For Parks, she plans to return to Istanbul in April for further treatment.

Reuters