"As a result of this crisis, we expect to see demand from employees for employers to help via dental insurance plans to grow. "
- David Pye, Broadstone director
This statistic reveals that 28m adults in the UK haven’t seen an NHS dentist in the past two years, 1.7m more adults compared to last year. As a result, fears are beginning to grow over the wider health damage being caused by lacking oral checks.
In light of these statistics, David Pye, Broadstone director, has said that the “collapsing number of patients accessing NHS dental services is a ticking time bomb.” He believes that issues such as cavities and gum diseases may seem minor but they can cause “persistent pain and misery” as well as contribute to more serious health issues like heart disease, cancer, and type 2 diabetes.
Pye added that oral health is “essential to our overall health and wellbeing” so with recent research finding that nine out of ten NHS dental practices in the UK are not accepting new patients, access to affordable treatment has become a primary concern.
“Many people are unable to afford private fees” commented Pye, “and this has led to some unthinkably horrific stories of people’s self-treatment of their dental issues.”
Pye believes that a “demand from employees for employers to help via dental insurance plans” is set to grow to allow people to fill the NHS access gap with “flexible, affordable private care to support their health.”
However, despite the benefits for employers i.e. better health, reduced absenteeism, and therefore higher productivity from their workforce, Pye warns that businesses will also need to carefully manage their private healthcare costs and exposure to future premium reviews as the use of dental cover becomes more common.
