REPORT Unmet needs in dental care: A literature review and policy document analysis

This report explores the different categories of subjective unmet needs (SUNs) that affect access to NHS dentistry. It defines unmet needs in dentistry, offer potential metrics of unmet need and identify data sources from which these can be measured. More specifically, we wanted to identify:

• what are the different perceptions of need or unmet need?

• who are affected by experiences of unmet needs?

• Are there groups that disproportionately experience unmet needs?

• why is there an under delivery of service or gaps in provision?

• what are the consequences of unmet need?

It presents analyses of Healthwatch reports on dentistry since 2015, a review of published literature (including grey literature) to understand they types of subjective unmet needs that have been identified through research, and submissions to the House of Commons Health and Social Care Select Committee on NHS Dentistry. Analysis of the Healthwatch reports demonstrated that although a range of SUNs were evident before the COVID-19 pandemic, reports of these increased in number and range after March 2020, suggesting that the pandemic worsened access to NHS dentistry. The literature review highlighted that although a range of SUNs have been explored, the data was largely gathered from populations that have been able to successfully access dental care (i.e. dental patients), whereas there was limited research on those who have been unable to translate their need into a demand for dental care. Finally, the analysis of the submissions to the House of Commons Health and Social Care Select Committee Inquiry on NHS Dentistry indicated that there remains a significant disparity between the needs of the population and the availability/provision of service to meet this demand.