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NHS Dental Services

NHS dentistry services

We know that some people have struggled to access the dental care they need during the pandemic. We want to hear about your experiences of trying to use NHS dentistry services since March 2020. Tell us what worked well for you and what could be better so we can help providers improve their services.

Due to strict infection control measures in place in dental practices, fewer appointments have been available causing a backlog of patients. We have been hearing that some people are unable to find an NHS dental practice which is taking on new patients while others aren’t sure where to go for urgent dental care.

We would like to hear about your experiences of accessing NHS dentistry since the start of the first lockdown.

The survey will run from Monday 29 November 2021 until Friday 7 January 2022. We will then combine our findings with colleagues at other local Healthwatch to build a regional picture of NHS dentistry services in the North East.

NHS Dentistry Survey

More information about finding an NHS dentist and what to do if you need urgent dental care is available on the NHS website:

How to find an NHS dentist

Get in touch with our Information and Signposting Service

 

This survey is now closed.

Covid-19 and NHS dental care

Healthwatch England is calling for action to address widespread issues with access to NHS dental care following an unprecedented surge in concerns. Healthwatch experienced a 452% increase in feedback on the issue in the second quarter of the year, with continuing accounts of people being left in pain, resorting to ‘DIY’ repair methods and in some cases even extracting their own teeth.

The review of 1,300 people’s experiences of accessing dental care found that:

  • More than 7 in 10 people (73%) found it difficult to access help and support when they needed it.
  • Access issues were caused by dentists not taking on NHS patients, as well as conflicting advice from different parts of the NHS about what help is available.
  • Many people were offered treatment if they went private, despite research indicating that 40% of people would struggle to afford private dental care.
  • The impact of not being able to access care led many people to experience pain, discomfort and further complications.

The increase in feedback comes after the British Dental Association reported that treatments delivered by NHS dental services in England are at a quarter of pre-COVID levels, with over 14.5 million fewer procedures taking place.

Laura Floyd, from West Berkshire, was part-way through significant dental treatment when it was cancelled due to the lockdown in March. The new mother explained: “As we went from April to May, I had an abscess develop on the tooth which was still awaiting treatment. I did receive care over the phone and a course of antibiotics which helped ease some of the pain and swelling but this never fully went away, I just lived with it as cautiously as I could. Sadly my eight-month-old wasn’t as cautious when reaching out and grabbing my face!”

Laura, who was entitled to free NHS dental care for 12 months after the birth of her child, did then receive some emergency treatment for a further painful cavity but is still waiting for her main treatment to be completed a year on from her initial diagnosis.

Sir Robert Francis QC, Chair of Healthwatch England, said: “The COVID-19 crisis has impacted on many areas of NHS support but, problems in dental care appear to be particularly acute.

“Even before the pandemic, people were telling us about problems in accessing NHS dental appointments but since the start of the summer these reports have hugely increased.

“If we don’t improve access to NHS dental care, not only do people risk facing far greater dental problems in the future but it also puts pressure on overstretched hospitals and GPs. Untreated dental problems can lead to pain, infection and the risk of long-term harm, which is comparable with other medical conditions.

“Health and care services are working hard to deal with the pandemic, but we believe the Government and the NHS should give more attention to resolving both long-standing and COVID-related issues in dentistry.”

While the report accepts that the overall treatment backlog caused by the pandemic will take time to clear due to limited industry capacity and COVID-related restrictions, it makes several recommendations including:

  • providing more accurate and up-to-date information for patients
  • providing clarity over NHS dentists’ obligations relating to patient registration
  • making more resources available to improve patient access to
    dental care and;
  • reviewing the overall cost to patients of NHS dental care, particularly with a 5% price increase set to take effect before Christmas.

Healthwatch is also calling for people on low incomes who are forced to travel long distances to access dental care to be reimbursed.

Read more on the Healthwatch England website

If you would like to tell us about your experience of accessing dental care during the pandemic you can tell us your story here.

Update on dental services June 2020

Since 25 March, NHS dental practices have been providing telephone advice and triage. A network of urgent dental centres were put in place across the region to provide urgent treatment where necessary.

The Government recently announced that dental practices may begin to reopen from 8 June 2020 and start to provide a limited range of face to face treatment, where there is the necessary infection prevention
control and PPE requirements in place alongside urgent telephone advice and triage currently operating.

It is likely that those patients with the most urgent issues will be seen first and a return to services fully providing routine dental check-ups and hygienist appointments will come later. This may depend on the further easing of Covid-19 control measures.

Accessing dental services

• Dental practices will look different as they will be operating in a way that observes Covid-19 social distancing and hygiene rules, as part of measures taken to ensure the safety patients and the dental team alike.

• Whilst surgeries are observing social distancing, patients should continue to telephone or email their practice, rather than attending in person without an appointment.

• If you have a regular dentist, you should call them as a first step. The dentist will assess your situation over the phone, including giving advice and, if needed, prescriptions for painkillers or antibiotics, or arranging treatment.
• If you do not have a regular dentist during the Covid19 outbreak, you can still call any local dental practice as well as visiting 111.nhs.uk or call NHS 111 who will provide advice as appropriate.

• Out of hours for urgent dental issues advice is still to visit 111.nhs.uk or call NHS 111. Please do not visit A&E departments or GPs with dental problems.

Find a dentist with NHS service finder