Scottish dental practice owners are key stakeholders in the delivery of dental services to the Scottish population. We are a small group but we each make considerable personal and financial investment into our businesses and the communities they serve.
Good oral health is a key component of good general health. Therefore an effective dental care system is an important contributor to overall public health. It is desirable that everyone should have access to high quality dental care, irrespective of income. This requires a state backed system but it must be effective and sustainable.
A strong private sector is also desirable and offers a range of services that are never likely to be state funded. NHS GDS and private dentistry complement each other and most practices in Scotland are mixed.
Most dentists involved in providing NHS GDS are unhappy with the model of care delivery and remuneration. It is considered outdated, and almost certainly has a detrimental effect on patient care and working conditions for dental teams.
Most dentists believe that as a profession, we do not seem to enjoy good outcomes in negotiations with government. This has led to a gradual erosion of our working conditions and job satisfaction. Other professional healthcare groups seem to do better.
And yet, dental practice owners should be a powerful group, for the following reasons:
- Most dental services in Scotland are provided in general dental practice.
- Without the cooperation of practice owners NHS GDS would fail.
- This would have significant political repercussions, the public expect NHS GDS.
- There is no other viable model of delivering dental services to the wider Scottish population.
We believe that, if all Scottish Dental Practice Owners unite as a collective, SDPO group will be in a strong position to address the concerns of our members, and to help shape an effective, sustainable NHS GDS which offers reasonable conditions to dental teams.
SDPO group does not seek to weaken or replace other dental representative bodies. We fully support these organisations. However, we believe that practice owners are a unique group of key investors in Scottish dentistry and they deserve to have a strong voice.
A lack of unity and a historical failure to act together has not served our profession well. Like other than professional groups we should come together for the betterment of our profession and the public we serve.
We hope you will join with us in creating a strong voice for Scottish Dental Practice Owners.