A Dundee dad says he’s ‘gobsmacked’ after discovering his son faces a nine-month wait for dental treatment – unless he can pay upwards of £2,000.
Scott McKimmie says he was shocked to get a letter about the delay from a Dundee orthodontics practice after his son Aiden was referred there by his dentist.
The letter states there is a wait of ‘at least nine months’ as NHS clinics have reached capacity ‘following a surge in referrals for orthodontic treatment in 2022’.
Waiting times for specialist dental treatment are returning due in part to the Covid backlog clearing, say dentists.
And pressures on general NHS dentistry services in the city continue – with all practices unable to take on new NHS patients.
Aiden, a youth player for Dundee United who attends Baldragon High as part of the DUFC Academy, had 15 baby teeth removed five years ago at Ninewells Hospital.
And dad Scott says he was told his son would need orthodontic treatment when he became a teenager.
Now almost 13, Aiden was referred by his own practice, Duthie Dental in Lochee, to specialists Beam Orthodontics.
Scott says: “We were told he’d need braces when he was older and we went to the dentist and asked about this.
“They said they agree he needs orthodontic treatment.
‘If I can pay we’ll be seen the next day’
“I got the letter from Beam Orthodontics to say he’d have to wait nine months for NHS treatment.
“But if I can pay – from £2,000 up to £4,500 depending on complexity – then he will be seen the next day.
“Beam’s owner told me they don’t make any money on the NHS treatment.
“There’s nothing I can do but wait. With the cost of living just now, what family can afford £4,000?
Kids’ check-ups started again last year
“I was gobsmacked. It’s different if it was an adult but I’m talking about a child’s treatment.
“You pay your taxes but your child can’t be seen on the NHS for almost a year!”
Founder and co-owner of Beam, specialist orthodontist Dr Rhu McKelvey says waiting lists are quite new for his practice, which opened 15 years ago.
“When we came out of Covid there was a lack of referrals for quite some time because dentists getting back into the swing of it were seeing the patients with problems, broken teeth or whatever,” Dr McKelvey explains.
“Whereas healthy kids were back in the queue and their check-ups started to come through last year. Then we started to see referrals build up.”
‘Dundee better served than most’
However, he says Dundee is better served than many cities.
“Waits for orthodontic treatment are more normal than unusual across the country. Most of my colleagues across the UK are operating with waiting lists.
“Dundee is quite lucky and well-served. There are two specialist practices and there’s a dental teaching hospital, so compared to Scotland and the UK, Dundee is better served than most, to put it in context.
“Orthodontics is not a one-off. It’s not like going to the dentist to get a filling or check-up, it’s sometimes three, four or five years of treatment.”
He continues: “NHS fees across the board for dentistry have always been unsustainable. The only reason there are practises doing NHS dentistry is because they are mixed and do some private.
‘Nobody ever died from squint teeth’
“The dental health of kids has improved massively in the last decades.
“But the old system is broken and it’s not serving the public or practitioners now. Discussions continue between the Scottish Government and the Scottish Dental Practice Committee.
“The future for dental health doesn’t look rosy but that’s more a national economic statement really. Hard choices have to be made.
“Nobody ever died from squint teeth so it’s a tough one for me to make a case and say we need more money here when it’s needed elsewhere too.”
- NHS Tayside confirms no practices in Dundee are accepting new NHS patients. But this changes regularly and advice is to contact the dental advice line for information on practices accepting new registrations
- There are practices in Perth & Kinross and Angus currently taking new NHS patients
- Information about dental services, including how to access emergency treatment is available here
- For further information on orthodontics click here.
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