Debate contribution: Dental Care

Debate contribution by Mrs Deborah Erskine on 27 May 2025.

MLA

Mrs Deborah Erskine

Party at the time

Democratic Unionist Party

Date

27 May 2025

Type

Debate contribution

Business

Private Members' Business

Heading

Dental Care

Assembly identifier

Official Report component 4972174

Read the official Assembly record

Text

I support the important motion and want to give a voice in the Chamber, yet again, to the growing frustration and anxiety that is felt by many of my constituents in Fermanagh and South Tyrone, and by people across Northern Ireland, who face increasingly severe difficulties in accessing basic dental care. The previous time that I spoke in the Chamber on this issue, I described my area as a "dental desert". It is not getting any better. I provided options and pleaded with the Minister to act. Unfortunately, in response, I got rhetoric about how my party voted for the Budget. Let us hope that the Minister will come with a different attitude today. In rural constituencies such as mine, the problem is not new, but it is worsening at an alarming rate. Constituents tell me that they can no longer find an NHS dentist and that the switch to private dentistry models is creating health inequalities in each town and village across Northern Ireland. Others have been removed from practice lists because their local surgeries can no longer afford to keep them under the current funding arrangements. We are not talking about just routine check-ups; we are talking about serious dental pain being left untreated, infections going unmanaged and families having to travel extraordinary distances for care that they used to receive in their own communities. That is not acceptable in a modern healthcare system. The British Dental Association has been crystal clear: the financial model for NHS dentistry is no longer viable. The fees paid by the Department of Health simply do not meet the real cost of providing NHS dental services. That has forced many practices into making an impossible choice: take on fewer NHS patients, switch to private dentistry or close their doors altogether. We must face facts: the current system is broken. It is not enough to acknowledge the crisis; we need action. The general dental statistics publication for 2023-24 shows that the Fermanagh and Omagh council area had the lowest adult registration rate at 49%, which is 17 points below the Northern Ireland average. That is a staggering picture. Our amendment strengthens the original motion by calling for more urgency and adding in the regional inequalities that must be tackled. We need measures to expand access to services and address the very real regional inequalities that persist, particularly in rural areas such as Fermanagh and South Tyrone. I also highlight the role of early and preventative care. Oral health is not separate from general health. Poor dental hygiene is linked to heart disease, diabetes and poor outcomes in pregnancy. The cost of inaction will not just fall on the dental system; it will burden our entire health service. The Minister must prioritise the completion and publication of the general dental services cost-of-service review. Dentists have waited for long enough. If we are to rebuild NHS dentistry, we need a funding model that reflects the real-world cost of delivering high-quality care. We must also look to the future. A new comprehensive oral health strategy is long overdue. That strategy must address workforce planning, training, retention and support for dentists working in underserved areas. If we do not invest in the dental workforce now, we will lose more practices and expertise, and, ultimately, our public health will deteriorate. People in my constituency deserve to know that, when their child has a toothache, they can get an appointment. When an older person needs a filling or a denture repaired, they should not be left waiting for weeks or having to travel for hours. As has been said by others in the Chamber today, that is not a luxury; it is a basic public service. We cannot build a fair and healthy society without it. I urge all Members to support our amendment, and I call on the Minister to act with the seriousness and speed that the crisis demands.

652 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.

Assessment

Not flagged

Jev’s structured answers

Assessed 21 October 2026 at 12:35 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.

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