Concerns that public access to dentistry across the UK is continuing to decline have been heightened by new figures released by the House of Commons Library.
The particular findings related to the dental situation up in Lancashire, where, Dentistry Magazine reports, the two years to June 2022 saw only 36.8 per cent of adults in the county attending an NHS dentist. This is 6.2 per cent down on the equivalent figure for the two years to June 2019.
While the pandemic has left some shying away from going to the dentist due to concerns about a possible infection risk, the figures have also demonstrated again that NHS dental access has declined.
Those wondering whether to use a private dentist in Bishop’s Waltham may be tempted to think this is just a problem in another part of the country, but the reality is it applies all over the UK, including in Hampshire.
As Dentistry noted, evidence of a nationwide crisis includes a BBC documentary in the summer that showed nine out of ten NHS practices across the UK are not taking on any new adult patients and eight out of ten are not accepting new child patients.
The problem is worse in some areas than others, with the BBC researchers unable to find any practices taking on new patients in 56 or the 152 local authority areas of the UK.
Among the local authorities where there are no new places available is Bristol, a city of 472,000 people where there are no fewer than 50 practices, Cosmetic Dentistry Guide notes.
Last month, the British Dental Association called for the government to show more ambition in tackling the access crisis, claiming that the plans produced so far from new health secretary Therese Coffey will not be enough to turn the situation round.
Prime minister Liz Truss has said increased access to dental services is among the top three priorities for the first three months of her new administration.