The BDA will be on stand K74 at the British Dental Conference & Dentistry Show, with its very own time machine – a replica DeLorean from the film ‘Back to the Future’. Come along and get your picture taken with this iconic car to help us promote the petition. 

The BDA has also invited the Shadow Health Minister, Preet Gill MP, to speak at 12 noon on Friday 17 May, alongside BDA Chair Eddie Crouch, as part of their session on dentistry in an election year. Preet will share her thoughts on dentistry as a political issue and outline about Labour’s plans for the sector if they win power this autumn. 

BDA Chair Eddie Crouch said: ‘A wealthy 21st century nation has seen its citizens pulling out their own teeth with pliers, while others queue from the crack of dawn to access care. From underfunding to failed contracts, the crisis millions face is the result of political choices. The Mirror is showing leadership we desperately need to see from Westminster.’ 

England’s dentists have no confidence in the Government’s Recovery Plan, which the vast majority have dubbed incapable of meeting the Government’s stated goals, and which they say may actually reduce access for NHS patients. The BDA’s survey of dentists in England shows that just 3% think the plan will result in their practice seeing more NHS patients. 43% believe the plan will actually lead to their practice seeing fewer NHS patients. 

The BDA described the Government’s Recovery Plan as ‘unworthy of the title’, stressing that after an almost yearlong wait, it failed to offer the ambition or resources to bring the service back from the brink. The BDA doesn’t want to see dentistry going back in time, with stories of people undertaking DIY dentistry and resorting to pulling out their own teeth with pliers. 

The BDA is campaigning for reform of the NHS dental contract and sustainable funding and investment.