The entire county where you cannot get an NHS dentist appointment
An entire county reportedly cannot get toothaches fixed or have check-ups on the NHS after 2,000 dentists quit last year, in what is said to be England’s starkest case of a “dental desert”.
Patients in Somerset say they are being left in agony and facing bills of more than £1,000, as they are driven into the private sector by the absence of check-ups and treatment.
Healthwatch Somerset said a third of the calls it received in the three months to February were about problems accessing NHS dentistry – many concerning children, pregnant women and people who cannot afford private dental care.
Gill Keniston-Goble, a manager at the patient champion organisation, said that in England’s eighth largest county: “People are telling us they have called many dentists but cannot find one taking new patients.
“We are also hearing from the public that NHS England is advising there are no dentists taking new NHS patients in Somerset,” a claim that NHS England denies.
But a survey by The Telegraph of the NHS “find a dentist” online service found that of the 89 NHS-linked surgeries surrounding Taunton and Bridgwater, the two main towns in the county, none was freely taking any adult patients.
A third of the surgeries within an 18-mile radius of the towns said they were “not taking any new NHS patients at the moment”, while two were taking under-18s only, 25 had not updated their status and 29 were via NHS referral only, which is for emergency care.
‘Deepening crisis in dental care’
The Association of Dental Groups found that 2,000 dentists quit the NHS last year, up from 951 the previous year. It also found that “dental deserts” now stretch across the entire east of England and are emerging in “red wall” areas, where “there is almost no chance of ever seeing an NHS dentist for routine care”.
It comes as Healthwatch England, the national body representing patients, warned the scarce access is “now a deepening crisis in dental care”, which is “creating a two-tier dental system” and widening health inequalities.
New polling for the patient champion found that two in five people have experienced difficulty booking an NHS dental appointment. Almost a quarter said they had to pay privately to access care, prompting calls for “urgent attention” from ministers.
Some 17 per cent said they felt “pressured” to pay privately when they tried to book a dental appointment. The survey of 2,000 adults in England found 49 per cent think NHS dental charges are “unfair” amid the rising cost of living.
Lydia Davis, 27, who moved to Bridgwater, Somerset, at the start of the Covid pandemic, said she has not been able to find an NHS dentist within a two-hour radius.
She suffers from a form of gum disease called gingivitis and her gums frequently bleed when she brushes her teeth. She needs two new fillings and wisdom teeth removed.
After Ms Davis was unable to find a local NHS provider, she sought private care. “Sitting in the dentist’s office, listening to the list of treatments, the cost of £1,100 brought me to tears,” she said. “These costs were on top of the £50 I had to spend to have her appointment.”
In Somerset, the NHS has set up a rare dedicated phone line to help people access emergency dental care, which goes beyond the 111 service elsewhere.
Healthwatch Somerset warned that some elderly people in care homes were being struck off NHS dentist lists, after not being able to attend an appointment throughout the pandemic.
In neighbouring Dorset, a Healthwatch report in February found just three of the 74 dental practices who responded to a request for information were taking on new NHS adult patients.
‘Running on empty’
Shawn Charlwood, of the British Dental Association, said: “For over a decade this service has been running on empty, our patients paying more just so the Treasury can pay less.”
A spokesman for NHS England and NHS Improvement South West said: “Access to NHS dentists across the country has been greatly affected over the past year by infection prevention control measures, due to the Covid-19 pandemic and ongoing recruitment challenges.
“To ensure those most in need can access treatment, we have provided more than 550 additional urgent care appointments every month across Somerset.
“Looking ahead, the South West Dental Reform Programme is bringing together commissioners, professionals and the public to improve access to NHS oral health services and develop initiatives to improve recruitment and retention across the region.”