A LAW firm is warning patients and dental practices that there could be a serious shortage of trained dentists as a consequences of a hard Brexit by Britain next year.
Helen Wong, from Clarke Willmott, who specialises in advising the dental sector, said she believed that if there was a no deal next March, many dental practices in places across Britain including Oldham, could find themselves seriously short of trained dentists.
This would be because a hard Brexit would no longer be a mutual recognition of dental qualifications from EU countries, leaving many home based dentists having to re-qualify or take a transition exam.
She also warned that dental practices might want to consider building up equipment and stock at current prices, rather than run the risk of paying more post-Brexit.
She explained: “There is a sentiment among some practices run by EU citizens of not feeling welcome here anymore and are selling up because they no longer want to invest time and roots in a place that feels hostile to them.
“People look at the Windrush scandal and fear they could be the next to be cut out of the UK system and that future generations of their family could find themselves in the same predicament, and so they might as well go now.
“This could leave the North West with a serious shortage of qualified dentists.”
She said she also had concerns about costs rising if np deal is done in time
She went on: “At the moment equipment follows EU standards, but if the UK adopts its own guidelines, there is a potential risk that many of the current or future apparatus or methodologies, will not adhere to UK standards.
“For dental practices this could mean added costs to re-standardise, or in a worst-case scenario they could find themselves in breach of the law solely because of a ‘hard Brexit’ and the different standards being imposed.
“Practices should also be reviewing their private dental work fees and factor in the potential extra costs now, rather than to wait and see whether the UK crashes out of the European Union next March or not.”
The number of General Dental Council-registered dentists from EU countries has increased from 4,978 in 2007 to 6,782 in 2015. However, the British Dental Association says 68 per cent of NHS practices in England struggled to fill vacancies in 2017
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