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Crown Cottage Dental Care in Bedwas is set to withdraw NHS dental treatment, affecting around 5,000 patients.

From April, the practice will go private, joining a growing number of surgeries opting not to offer NHS-funded dental care following changes to the Welsh Government’s NHS dental contract.

The move follows Forest Dental in Blackwood, which also withdrew from NHS dentistry in December last year.

The Welsh Government announced the reforms in NHS dentistry last year – described as the biggest shake-up in 20 years – to much controversy.

After a public backlash, the Welsh Government backtracked on plans to allocate a dentist for each check-up and patients will now remain with their existing family practice – if it remains with the NHS.

Under the reforms, NHS dentists in Wales will be paid a higher hourly rate of £150, up from the £135 initially proposed, to make working for the health service more attractive.

However, the British Dental Association Cymru warned the new overall package amounted to “superficial repairs” and said payment levels still fell short of the true cost of care – leaving some practices at risk of losses or of leaving the NHS altogether.

Opposition Senedd Members had previously warned this could leave patients looking for a new NHS dentist.

South Wales East MS Peredur Owen Griffiths, of Plaid Cymru, raised the issue with First Minister Eluned Morgan in the Senedd on Tuesday February 3.

During First Minister’s Questions, he said: “A constituent has been in touch with my office who’s now nearly 50 years old and has been with this particular practice since he was a child.

“He has been told he would have to pay a fixed subscription fee to remain at the dentist in excess of £1,000 a year for his family of four.

“It is well documented that there are other dentists that have gone private recently for the same sorts of reasons.

“NHS dentists in Wales have been warning of the collapse in NHS provision since I came into office in 2021.”

In response the First Minister said: “It’s always disappointing when a dentist decides to reduce or end their NHS commitment.

“When that happens, it’s important to state that the funding for the lost provision remains with the health board, and it is replaced at the health board level in terms of other services that can be given.”

She added that the monetary value of returned contracts represented 3% of commissioned services – lower than was seen in 2023/24. However the First Minister also admitted there were “pockets” across Wales where NHS services were “challenged” but that in rural areas, dentists got an additional £7,000 in salary.

A spokesperson for Aneurin Bevan University Health Board confirmed that around 5,000 patients will be affected by Crown Cottage’s move to private care.

They said: “We know this news might be worrying, but we’d like to reassure local people that we will start a formal process to find other dentists in the area willing to provide NHS dental care, so that services can continue in the future.

“We would encourage people affected to add their details to the Dental Access Portal. This system helps health boards match patients with NHS dental practices in the area.”

There are currently 69 dental practices in the Gwent area that offer NHS dental care, with seven, including Crown Cottage, due to go private from April.