It is often said that most people are terrified of a trip to the dentist, but a new survey has found that many regard it as distinctly preferable to some of the alternatives, Dentistry Magazine has noted.
Faced with back-to-back work meetings or skipping one of them to get their teeth checked, three in five adults would prefer the latter, according to a British Dental Association (BDA) survey.
However, the survey found the numbers did vary geographically, so the numbers willing to go and get their dental fillings in Bishops Waltham may differ from the number in Stoke Bishop or Bishop Auckland.
Indeed, the latter may be keener than most to go as 82 per cent of workers in Sunderland – the highest figure on the country – preferred the dentist’s chair to the meeting, suggesting people in the north east are either much less afraid of visiting the surgery or really don’t like their work much.
The West Midlands was another place with lots of willing patients, as 80 per cent of those polled in Coventry and Walsall would prefer to come face-to-face with the drill than the director. Perhaps one can conclude that folk in Bishop’s Tatchbrook in nearby Warwickshire have regular appointments too.
Of course, being willing to visit the dentist is one thing, but Covid restrictions are still limiting the number of treatments dentists can do and leading to large treatment backlogs. For this reason, the BDA has welcomed possible easing of conditions to something akin to pre-pandemic conditions.
BDA Spokesperson Martin Woodrow said: “The potential easing of current restrictions will be greeted positively by many within the profession who have seen the current approach as un-evidenced and excessive.”
The problem is not just a concern in England. According to Cosmetic Dentistry Guide News, a drop in appointments of over 80 per cent during the pandemic means Scottish patients could be left waiting over a year for appointments as dentists scramble to catch up.