'Oral healthcare is dying - it's dead on its feet'

Mark Jones founded Toothless in Suffolk in 2021

A campaigner who wants everyone to have access to an NHS dentist has said oral healthcare is "dying, it is almost finished, and it's dead on its feet".

Mark Jones, from Felixstowe, is the co-founder of Toothless In Suffolk and Toothless In England - campaign groups calling for better dentistry services in the country.

The government previously pledged to "reform the dental contract" but the British Dental Association (BDA) believes cuts to dental services will leave a £1.5bn hole in the budget.

Mr Jones has demanded urgent change after a meeting he was due to have with care minister Stephen Kinnock was cancelled. The BBC understands alternative dates have been offered.

Speaking on BBC Suffolk, he said: "We are bitterly disappointed the minister cancelled late yesterday evening but we are not going anywhere and we will carry on.

"That door has been closed but I have asked my MP to lobby hard and take a fresh look at providing mobile clinics for rural and coastal areas.

"[Residents who live in those areas] will not have a chance of seeing another dentist on their high street because they are gone for good."

Mark Jones said he was "bitterly disappointed" by the cancellation of a meeting with a health minister

Mr Jones started his campaign group in 2021 following an announcement that the last remaining dentist in Leiston would shut.

Since then, he has met residents who have taken dentistry into their own hands, including one Bury St Edmunds woman who told him she pulled out 11 of her teeth.

"Within days of starting the campaign, we very quickly realised it was a problem across Suffolk, the East of England, and in fact the whole of the country," he said.

He said: "We are suffering from a complete absence of NHS dentistry and oral healthcare is dying," he added, "it is almost finished, and it is dead on its feet.

"We need focus and commitment rather than gestures."

'Government needs a proper plan'

Mr Jones' concerns come after the BDA said the dental budget had remained static at around £3bn since 2010, despite charges increasing in all but two years since.

The association said dentist leaders believed the total budget would now have been closer to £4.5bn had government contributions increased at the same rate.

Matthew McGregor, chief executive at 38 Degrees, said: "This is further proof the Government needs a proper plan to fix NHS dentistry, and to stump up the investment to make it a reality.

"It's time for urgent action from government ministers."

'Taking action'

A spokesperson for Mr Kinnock said the government was "taking action to fix the NHS dentistry crisis".

"We've recently announced 700,000 urgent dentistry appointments, including 69,000 in the East of England," they said.

Addressing the cancellation of his meeting with Mr Jones, the spokesperson added: "The minister is meeting a number of dental groups, but sometimes meetings need to be re-arranged due to government business changing.

"This was one such meeting - and we were very clear about our commitment to finding a new date quickly."