New patients turned away from half of UK dentists
Roughly half of UK dentists are no longer accepting new patients, according to new research released by the BBC.
Of the 2500 practices spread throughout the UK, about 50 per cent are no longer accepting new adult patients on the NHS, as reported by BBC News. The report continued on to state that a worrying 40 per cent are not accepting new youth patients either.
Fears are now growing that a large amount of people are finding it impossible to get access to regular dental appointments. The British Dental Association (BDA) has labelled the figures as proof of an “emerging crisis”.
The NHS managed to provide 39 million units of dental treatment last year despite these figures, and has since released their most recent survey, which shows that 95 per cent of patients seeking treatment were able to access what they needed.
One couple from Dewsbury, Rebecca Brearey and Nick Oldroyd, have been cited as an example of the ongoing crisis. The couple say that have not been able to speak to a dentist for four years and that they have been told they had to wait a minimum of two years to see someone on the NHS. Shockingly, one tooth caused Rebecca so much pain that she extracted it herself after taking a cocktail of alcohol and painkillers. She has said that the state of her oral health has let her with mental health issues. Both of them have pleaded to be allowed to see a dentist but have still been forbidden treatment.
One young mother from Bradford, Nazreen Akhtar, had to struggle for five years to have her two children registered under the same dentist.
The report was produced following information gathered by the BBC from the NHS choices website, which lists all available practices and whether or not they are accepting new patients. The exact numbers were listed as 48 per cent not accepting adults, and 40 per cent not accepting children.
