'Nothing has changed': Dentists at centre of social media storm slam Labour's record as trained dentists forced to work at Mcdonald's

Police were called to keep the peace at St Pauls Dental Practice in February 2024, as people waited in line before sunrise to try and become patients at the newly opened clinic. 

The length of the queue prompted the then-Shadow Health Secretary Wes Streeting to visit the central Bristol practice.

He pledged that Labour would invite dentists to the Department of Health and Social Care the Monday after he took office if Labour won the election.

Mr Streeting told LBC: "We've got to fix the fundamentals. We've got to go to the root causes of the NHS dentistry crisis...until people get that reform, they're not going to get NHS dentistry as we once knew it."

But dentists at the practice have told LBC that despite Mr Streeting's promises, Labour has not addressed the underlying problems causing the staffing crisis within NHS dentistry.

"Nothing has changed. I just keep thinking, was it because it was election time?" says the practice's owner Shivani Bhandari. "Waiting queues have gone worse."

Read more: Wes Streeting tells junior doctors 'public won't forgive them' as strike action looms

Read more: 'Half of MPs' are taking weight-loss jabs, Wes Streeting tells LBC

In its new 10-year Health Plan, the government promised to reform the NHS dental contract and said it would make all newly qualified dentists work in the NHS for 3 years. 

But with almost 3,000 NHS dental vacancies, LBC has been told an obvious solution is being ignored.

Bodies such as the International Dental Organisation UK and The Association of Dental Groups say thousands of skilled foreign dentists are unable to treat patients because of ongoing problems with the over-subscribed exam they must pass to practice in the UK.

Neil Carmichael, executive chairman of the Association of Dental Groups says those overseas dentists could fill the NHS vacancies twice over.

He said: "For some time, we have had over 2,700 vacancies in NHS dentistry and it's widespread across the whole of the United Kingdom.

"We have some 6,000 trained dentists who can't practise because they have not yet got through the Overseas Registration Examination"

Ahmed, an experienced dentist from Egypt, has been working in fast food chains for the last two and a half years to make ends meet because he can't book a spot on the exam: "I'm working in McDonald's.

"There are people working in Subways [and] people who are not working at all - who are really struggling or working in Deliveroo as delivery drivers. To be honest, it might be the worst period of my life.

"You don't want to wake up in the morning, you don't want to open your eyes. You go to work, you feel completely numb." 

The General Dental Council, which runs the test, told LBC demand for places has increased by 400% since 2022 and it intends to reform the exam so it better meets current and future needs.

A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: "We inherited a broken NHS dental system that is in crisis. We have already started fixing this, rolling out 700,000 urgent and emergency appointments and bringing in supervised toothbrushing for 3 to 5 year olds in the most deprived areas of the country.

“Our 10 Year Health Plan will transform dentistry. New reforms to the dental contract will prioritise those with urgent and complex needs, with new measures for those with extreme tooth decay and gum disease.

"We're boosting access to dentists too, with a 'golden hello' scheme to recruit dentists to areas with the most need, reform of the NHS dental contract, and by bringing in measures to make sure NHS-trained dentists to work in the NHS for a minimum period."