Free dental treatments in Scarborough and Ryedale plummet over past five years

The British Dental Association says an “aggressive and heavy-handed” policy of automatically fining patients accused of misclaiming free care is fuelling a collapse in attendance among vulnerable groups.

Dentists in the Scarborough and Ryedale Clinical Commissioning Group area administered 10,967 courses of treatment in 2018-19 to adults exempt from charges, NHS Digital figures show.

Free treatments, which are offered to low-income groups, elderly people, pregnant women and full-time students, have dropped by 43% since 2013-14.

Across England, the number of free procedures fell by a quarter over the same period. Without an exemption, adults have to pay a charge to visit the dentist, which varies depending on the type of treatment received.

In Scarborough and Ryedale, dentists did not charge their patients for 20% of the courses of treatment carried out in 2018-19.

Free urgent procedures have seen the largest drop, falling by 49% over the last five years.

The number of paid treatments offered in the area has also dropped, but far less sharply – 42,800 treatments incurred a fee last year, a 6% drop on 2013-14.

They brought in a total of £1.7 million for the NHS.

Misclaiming free care can lead to automatic fines of up to £100. The BDA says nearly 400,000 patients a year, including those with learning disabilities, have received fines, some simply for ticking the wrong box on a form.

The Department for Health and Social Care maintained that it is right to recoup money lost from people incorrectly claiming exemption from prescription and dental charges.

A spokesperson said: “We want every single person to have access to high quality dental care, and we have a number of clear, unchanged exemptions in place to protect those who cannot pay – including those on low incomes.”