At the Deep End of dental inequality

Due to the inverse care law, the crisis faced by NHS dentistry in England is felt most keenly by socioeconomically disadvantaged communities and the dental practices providing their care. Many challenges faced by these dental practices are shared by practitioners across the healthcare system. General medical practitioners (GMPs) in socioeconomically disadvantaged communities have set up local 'Deep End' networks which advocate for patients and staff, share learning and best practice, and develop interventions for improving care and reducing practitioner burnout. Beginning in Glasgow, the Deep End movement is now global, spreading beyond GMPs to other areas of the healthcare system. The establishment of Deep End networks for general dental practitioners could serve as a powerful movement for identity, advocacy and action for socioeconomically disadvantaged communities and their dental practice teams. By adapting the GMP definition of the Deep End, the Deep End of dentistry in England is defined as the 10% of contracts treating the greatest proportion of deprived patients based on NHS England's inequalities framework, CORE20PLUS5. Administrative data from the NHS Business Services Authority is used to identify the Deep End. Advice for dental teams looking to set up a local Deep End dental network is given.