People have been reduced to “pulling out their own teeth” and children and poorer families have been left without access to basic treatment because of the dire shortage of NHS dentists in North Wales. The “frightening” state of NHS dental treatment in many parts of North Wales was laid bare during a debate in the Senedd yesterday.
Arfon MS Siân Gwenllian said the service was in a “state of emergency” as she put forward a motion to establish a School of Dentistry in Bangor. The motion won cross-party support and was approved with 29 votes in favour, with 17 abstentions, and none against.
The motion found only 36% of the population in Arfon were able to receive treatment through the NHS – the lowest figure in Wales. It urged the Senedd to consider ‘Filling the Gaps’- a report commissioned by the MS last year making the case for a dentistry school.
It said many patients in North Wales were left “without proper access to basic dental care” which was putting emergency hospital departments “under additional pressure”.
Ms Gwenllian described three “distinct tiers” of care which had developed: “Those who have access to NHS care, those who want to access NHS care, but are unable to do so, and, therefore, opt to go private, and then those who are unable to access NHS care and are unable to afford private dental care.”
The impact “on this final cohort was frightening” she argued. She was campaigning for the school because, “behind the statistics were real people suffering greatly”.
“The culmination of this crisis is stark – and MSs are aware of horrific anecdotes of constituents suffering from the consequences of at-home, DIY dental treatments – and even sepsis in the worst case scenarios,” she said.
A new school could also play a “key role in training and retaining a dental workforce, provide jobs, attract investment and boost Bangor as a centre of excellence in health,” alongside the new medical school, Ms Gwenllian said.
Plaid Cymru MS for Arfon, Sian Gwenllian
(Image: Plaid Cymru)
Her motion called for the Welsh Government to consider the dental school’s economic and public health case, and to “invest strategically” to improve health services. In the Betsi Cadwaladr area, 41 surgeries had vacancies for dental posts, 10 per cent higher than average.
“Fifteen percent of dentists work solely for the NHS, which points to an increasing tendency towards privatisation.” There was, she said a “robust and convincing case” for the dentistry school. With a medical school already established, “the foundations have been laid, and the time is right”.
‘Crisis’
Ynys Môn MS Rhun ap Iorwerth, said there was a “crisis in terms of people’s ability to access dental care on the NHS”.
That’s why those “unable to afford to pay to go private” were “taking out their own teeth, as Mabon ap Gwynfor told us in the Senedd recently,” Mr ap Iorwerth said.
“Children in particular and the poorest families are suffering” he added.
Labour MS for North Wales Carolyn Thomas said it was difficult to get appointments and “costs seem to vary”.
Conservative MS for North Wales Sam Rowlands, the Welsh Tory shadow health minister said: “Sadly, it is those who are most vulnerable in our communities who are bearing the brunt.”
Conservative MS for Clwyd West, Darren Millar said some of his constituents travelling to Scotland, Albania, Turkey and eastern Europe for treatments: “People are not able to get the treatment they need, and very often I’m afraid they’re being left in terrible pain without the ability to see somebody.”
Plaid Cymru MS for Dwyfor Meirionnydd Mabon ap Gwynfor, felt the development would “complement the medical school and make Bangor an important health hub.”
Welsh Conservative Janet Finch Saunders said finding an NHS dentist appointment had become “not only difficult but impossible”.
Plaid Cymru MS Llyr Griffiths added NHS dentistry in North Wales is “in danger of becoming extinct”.
‘Impossible to access’
Cabinet Secretary for health and social care Jeremy Miles acknowledged there had been “significant difficulties” in North Wales, in terms of the” provision and quality of healthcare services”.
Jeremy Miles is the cabinet secretary for health
(Image: WalesOnline/Rob Browne)
But he noted that the Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board was the largest in Wales, with some 88 practices and 230,000 courses of NHS treatment in the last year.
The region had also seen the largest numbers of contract return in Wales, and there had been “delays” in recommissioning new contracts,
He also pointed to £1.5 million allocated to dental care last year, including the establishment of a new practice in Connah’s Quay, and £5 million allocated this year, including for orthodontics.
Mr Miles said rejected claims emergency departments were “experiencing additional pressures due to lack of access to dentists”.
“That is not actually in line with what the data is telling us. Urgent access sessions are available each day of the week and are located at various practices across the Betsi Cadwaladr health board—22 dental practices across North Wales,” he said.
“What we absolutely have to do, collectively, I think, is to elevate public understanding of how to access the facilities that are available.”
On the dental school, he said: “While we’ve seen a very welcome boost to the health budget in 2025-26, particularly in capital, expanding resources to increase education and training of members of the dental team in this way would take obviously significant investment, and the ongoing pressures on the health budget mean that it’s not possible to fund a project of this sort at this time.
“But let’s not put ourselves in a position where future developments could be delayed unnecessarily if the financial position changes. I’m encouraging Bangor and Aberystwyth universities to work together to develop a proposal together with their health boards for future consideration.
“The best position to be in when funding becomes available is for us to already have a robust proposal that we could, at that point, progress quickly.”
Speaking after the debate, Ms Gwenllian welcomed the cross-part support for her motion: “Gaining the support of the Senedd is a significant step forward but ultimately the decision lies with the Welsh Labour Government who so far have not committed their full support.”
Ms Gwenllian’s petition can be accessed here.