NHS dental provision in Powys has ‘effectively completely collapsed’, a Llandrindod Wells councillor claims

Councillor Jamie Jones said with the withdrawal of the Little Owl Dentist’s NHS Dental Provisions Contract for Llandrindod Wells, the town is now again without any NHS dental provisions for its residents. 

The only NHS Dentist in Llandrindod Wells closed with immediate effect at the start of the year after a dental practitioner was suspended by the General Dental Council

The Interim Orders Committee of the General Dental Council has suspended Dr Sami Aouant of AKS Dental Ltd trading as Little Owl Dental in Llandrindod Wells, based at The Old Town Hall, Temple Street.

Dr Aouant who has been registered with the General Dental Council since July 2017, has been suspended for 18 months until May 19 2027 with a review in six months.

Powys Teaching Health Board announced that Little Owl Dental in Llandrindod Wells has shut after the General Dental Council suspended Dr Sami Aouant.

As a result of the suspension, the Health Board stated it had no option but to terminate the contract for NHS dental services with immediate effect.

A spokesperson for Powys Teaching Health Board said: “We regret to report that Little Owl Dental Practice in Llandrindod Wells has ceased trading and all appointments are cancelled. This action follows the suspension of the Dentist running the service by the General Dental Council.

“We fully recognise how disappointing this news will be for local patients. The health board is working at pace to identify alternative arrangements for NHS dental services in the area but unfortunately there are no solutions that will offer immediate continuity of service. The statutory and contractual processes to put a new general dental services contract in place do take some time and we will ensure that you are kept updated on progress.

“Patient can join the NHS dental waiting list online at https://pthb.nhs.wales/dap. Our Dental Helpline is also available for people who cannot apply online (01686 252808).

“Patients with emergency dental problems should ring NHS 111 Wales (call 111 free from a mobile telephone or landline). Emergency dental problems include severe toothache where painkillers have not helped, bleeding after a tooth extraction, visible swelling of the neck or face, or knocked-out teeth.”

Further information is available from our website at pthb.nhs.wales/llandrindod-dental

Councillor Jones said Llandrindod Wells Town Council had started campaigning about dentistry in the area almost half a decade ago raising the issue with county councillors, Senedd members, MP’s, Powys Teaching Health Board and Welsh Government

He said at that point Powys Teaching Health Board should have picked up the batten and started dealing with the problem but in his opinion the reality is that they have failed our residents completely.

He said: “It is not as if PTHB wasn't already aware of the problem, because Kirsty Williams (LibDem) was raising this issue with PTHB and the Welsh Government over a decade ago.

 “It would seem to me that while we can have vast amounts of money spent on wide pavements and 20mph speed limits being forced upon us, as well as 36 extra Senedd Members and their additional staffing.

“Just think if the money was spent differently, how 36 extra dentists across Powys and other rural counties could have transformed NHS Dental Provisions.

“The results of the situation our residents are facing on this very serious matter, can only be considered as a knowing collective failure of the Welsh Government and PTHB jointly to have ignored this problem for so long.”

He proposed that Llandrindod Wells Town Council should pursue the matter again and raise it with politicians, the health board and the Welsh Government.

The Welsh Liberal Democrats has called on the Welsh Government to invest in rural dentistry. 

Freedom of Information data revealed that 3,734 people were on the waiting list for an NHS dentist in Powys even before these most recent closures, meaning the true figure is now significantly higher. 

Local evidence from a 2021 Llandrindod Wells Town Council survey found that a third of residents had no access to NHS dentistry, with some waiting up to a decade. 

Residents have reported being registered with NHS dentists as far away as Birmingham and Wolverhampton simply to access any care at all.

The Leader of the Welsh Liberal Democrats, Jane Dodds, said: “These issues have been raised repeatedly over many years by myself, by Llandrindod Wells Town Council, and by local residents, yet the situation has only worsened. People across Mid Wales are being left in pain, unable to find care for their children, or forced into private treatment they cannot afford.

“This is not an isolated incident but the culmination of years of systemic failure that has created what can only be described as a "dental desert" across the region. 

“I have written to the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care demanding that the Welsh Government outline their plans to save our rural dentists.”