A Malvern dentistry practice is in a “lucky” position, despite unions claiming the sector is “hanging by a thread.”

NHS Herefordshire and Worcestershire CCG saw the number of dentists drop by 8 per cent from 2020 to 2021, with 33 dentists leaving the sector.

Across England and Wales, a total of 2,500 dentists stopped treating NHS patients, with many areas suffering difficulties in terms of recruitment.

However, principal dentist at Malvern Hills Dental Care, Gurpreet Nandra, says the practice is in a strong position, able to accept new NHS patients whereas many practices cannot.

He said: “We are still working through the vast backlog from the Covid pandemic and have now open on Saturdays to reduce patients' waiting time, we hope to be back on track very soon.

“At this stage we have no need to recruit additional dentists. We are lucky in that we have invested highly in the practice, we have the latest technology and a large patient base, so recruitment is not overly onerous.”

On why so many NHS dentists are leaving the sector, he added: “COVID has added stress to a profession with many burdens, many older dentists have taken early retirement whilst some younger ones are changing profession.

“Unfortunately, the NHS system is somewhat difficult for dentists to work under. The system does have its benefits but with many drawbacks forcing more colleagues into the private sector.

“In all fairness the NHS was good at looking after its dentists during the pandemic although there has been a recent reversal with targets set at 85 per cent heading into the omicron wave.”

Meanwhile, chairman of the British Dental Association, Shawn Charlwood, has warned the trend of NHS dentists numbers decreasing cannot continue.

He said: “NHS dentistry is hanging by a thread, because without NHS dentists, there will be no NHS dentistry.

“Every dentist that is lost or every vacancy for NHS dentistry that remains unfilled affects thousands of patients.”

MPs are aware of the dentistry crisis at hand and Mid Worcestershire’s Nigel Huddleston claims the government are working to address the issue.

“I have made representations to my colleagues in government about the availability of dentist care and have received assurances that they are working to increase levels of service as fast and as safely as possible,” he said.