An Aberdeenshire dentist “chose to misinform” patients that they were no longer capable of carrying out treatment on the NHS, an SNP minister has claimed.
Oldmeldrum Dental Practice said last month they were shifting to expensive private care only for adults aged over 26 in order to keep afloat.
In a letter to patients, they said the shift was necessary in order to meet rising standards, maintain equipment quality and retain staff.
But an SNP minister has disputed this, claiming the Aberdeenshire dentist should still be able to treat patients through the NHS.
Jenni Minto, who holds the public health brief, said she was taking the matter “very seriously” and that Grampian health board bosses had spoken to the practice encouraging them to continue with NHS care.
She said: “I am aware that a small number of practices appear to have chosen to misinform patients about the NHS dental offer.
“This is something I take very seriously, and I will be asking the director of primary care to write to all NHS board chief executives about this situation and asking them to follow up on any instances of patients being wrongly advised.”
The planned shift to private-only care comes after new regulations came into place for dentists in November.
While they will receive increased fees after payment structures were rejigged, patients will no longer be automatically penned in for check-ups every six months.
That second change has proven particularly controversial – with one Fife dentist warning it could cost lives.
And the British Dental Association has questioned whether the regulations will solve staffing shortages across the country.
In September, we revealed dentists in Moray were being left with bigger workloads due to a chronic lack of workers filling key posts.
The profession has been in the grip of a major crisis as it becomes harder for patients to find practices that have not gone private.
North East Tory MSP Tess White, who quizzed Ms Minto on the latest row, claimed dentists were being unfairly “castigated” by the SNP.
She said: “These extraordinary accusations by an SNP minister will not help secure the future of NHS dentistry.
“More and more practices are being forced to go private-only to stay in business, waiting lists are getting longer, and a two-tier dental health system is emerging.
“Dentists and staff across Scotland will be shocked by these comments. They need to feel valued as an important part of NHS healthcare, not castigated.”
Charlotte Waite, director of British Dental Association Scotland said: “Many dental practices in Scotland found themselves delivering NHS care at a financial loss.
“We fought to get a more sustainable model in place, but clearly issues remain.”
NHS Grampian and Oldmeldrum Dental Practice were contacted for comment.
Conversation