Annabelle Ewing pushes free dental checkups for under-25s
Dental care has become one of the defining political battlegrounds of the decade. As households across the United Kingdom and beyond struggle to afford routine oral health appointments, candidates are increasingly making preventive dentistry for under-25s a centrepiece of their manifestos. Annabelle Ewing, the Scottish National Party representative for Ochil and South Perthshire, has thrown her weight behind a scheme that would give every young person in Scotland free access to regular dental checkups.
The proposal arrives at a moment when oral health inequalities are widening in many parts of the United Kingdom. Waiting lists for NHS dentistry in Scotland have stretched to record lengths, and young adults frequently emerge from education without ever having seen a dentist. Ewing argues that the cost of inaction is measured in extracted teeth, missed school days, and lifelong damage that could have been prevented with a simple screening.
Australian readers will recognise the same pressures. In Sydney and Melbourne, full-fee dental appointments can run past two hundred dollars for a single visit, and the federal Child Dental Benefits Schedule only covers those up to age seventeen. Ewing's plan, which extends coverage to age twenty-four, has drawn interest as a model that could inform debates in Canberra, Brisbane, and Perth about how to widen access to preventive oral healthcare.
The policy vision
Annabelle Ewing's plan would guarantee every person aged between five and twenty-four at least one free dental examination per year under NHS provision. The scheme would cover examinations, x-rays where clinically required, and basic oral hygiene advice. Treatment for identified problems would remain chargeable, but the diagnostic checkup itself would be entirely free.
The candidate has emphasised that preventive dentistry is the most cost-effective form of healthcare investment. A filling caught early avoids a root canal later, and a routine screening costs the public purse a fraction of emergency intervention. Ewing frames the policy as a long-term saving rather than a fresh spending commitment.
| Feature | Scotland (NHS proposal) | England (NHS) | Australia (CDBS / private) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free routine checkups for under-25s | Proposed by Ewing | Not currently available | Only up to age 17 |
| Annual benefit cap | None proposed | Not applicable | $1,000 over two years |
| Coverage of x-rays and diagnosis | Fully covered when referred | Charges vary | Partially covered |
| Average adult checkup cost | Free with registration | £25 or more | AUD $180 to $320 |
Why preventive dental care matters for young adults
The teenage years and early twenties are a critical window for oral health. Wisdom teeth emerge, orthodontic work concludes, and habits formed at this age tend to persist for decades. Regular dental screening during this period catches decay before it spreads, identifies gum disease in its earliest stages, and allows clinicians to spot signs of eating disorders or smoking-related damage.
In communities such as those around Perth and Adelaide, where public clinics are sparse and private fees climb steeply, young people may go through entire stretches of early adulthood without professional dental contact. Ewing's proposal would put Scotland ahead of comparable schemes in the United Kingdom, where free NHS dental checkups for adults have been quietly pared back over the past decade.
Oral health inequalities in rural and post-industrial areas
Ochil and South Perthshire contains former mining towns, agricultural communities, and stretches of countryside where the nearest NHS dentist may sit a long bus ride away. Ewing has campaigned on this postcode lottery for years, and the dental proposal is the latest expression of her concern that geography should not dictate the state of a child's teeth.
Across Australia, rural and remote communities face comparable struggles. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children in the Northern Territory experience caries rates far above the national average, and outreach programmes struggle to keep pace with demand. Both settings point to the same conclusion: free checkups must travel outwards from major cities if they are to close the gap.
Economic and social benefits
The economic case for free dental checkups for young people rests on straightforward logic. Treatment costs dwarf prevention costs, and untreated dental disease costs economies billions in lost productivity. Australia spends roughly eleven billion dollars annually on dental services, much of it out of pocket, while preventable extractions remain the most common reason for child hospital admissions.
Ewing has argued that healthier young Scots will miss fewer school days, perform better in exams, and enter the workforce without the burden of dental debt. For Australians watching from Brisbane or Hobart, the argument lands with familiar force. Both countries have shown that public investment in preventive screening pays dividends long after the cheque is cashed.
Campaign activity across Ochil and South Perthshire
Door knocking teams in Alloa, Tillicoultry, and Crieff have been distributing leaflets setting out the dental proposal. Ewing has held public meetings in community halls, briefed local dentists on the plan, and raised the issue in parliamentary debates at Westminster. The campaign emphasises that the policy is fully costed and would be funded through a modest adjustment to existing health spending.
Building a healthier generation
A snapshot from any Australian capital makes the case clear. In Melbourne, a young trades apprentice can sit on a public dental waiting list that stretches longer than the warranty on a second-hand ute. Ewing's proposal would shorten such waits for an entire cohort of Scots, and it puts pressure on governments elsewhere to rethink what preventive care should look like in the twenty-first century.
Ways to get involved in the campaign:
- Sign up on the campaign website for email updates
- Share the proposal with friends in the Ochil and South Perthshire constituency
- Attend the next public meeting in Alloa or Crieff
- Volunteer for door-to-door leafleting during the next weekend push
- Contact your own MP to ask for similar provisions in your area
Register your support today and help place preventive dental care at the heart of the next Scottish Parliament. Stand with Annabelle Ewing to bring free dental checkups to every young person in Ochil and South Perthshire.