Posts

Water fluoridation plans

Water fluoridation plans

There are plans to extend water fluoridation in the North East to help tackle preventable tooth decay.

Tooth decay is the most common oral disease affecting children and young people, causing pain and distress, preventable hospital admissions, sleepless nights and missed days from school. Ensuring drinking water contains the recommended level of fluoride is an effective way to help prevent tooth decay.

Some areas of the North East already have tap water which contains fluoride at these recommended levels and this has been very effective at reducing dental decay for the population living in these areas. In Northumberland, around 101,000 people are already supplied with artificially fluoridated water.

In the East and North of the county, fluoridated communities include Alnwick, Alnmouth, Howick, Embleton, High Newton by the Sea and Seahouses. In the West of the county, fluoridated communities include Haltwhistle, Henshaw, Haydon Bridge, Corbridge, Heddon on the Wall and Prudhoe. These fluoridation schemes have been in place since 1968.

The Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC) would like to hear your views on expanding water fluoridation in the North East, including those areas of Northumberland without fluoridation.

This consultation is now closed.

 

 

Dental services in Berwick

Dental services in Berwick

With the MyDentist practice in Castlegate closing at the end of September 2022, we have been hearing concerns from patients in Berwick about the provision of NHS dental services.

NHS England has given us the following messages for residents of Berwick and the wider area.

  • NHS England is acutely aware of the difficulties patients are experiencing in accessing NHS dental care following the closure of the practice in Berwick.
  • NHS England is looking at short term solutions to increase access for patients requiring urgent dental care whilst it works on the longer-term solution of securing a new NHS provider in Berwick, both of which are dependent on the availability of the dental workforce.
  • Berwick has not been forgotten and NHS England is trying hard to find alternative dentists or services to fill the gap. This includes approaching dentists in other parts of the county to see if they can offer any additional capacity.
  • In the meantime, the best advice is to use NHS111 for urgent or emergency treatment. If after clinical triage, your dental problem is not assessed as being clinically urgent, you will be asked to contact an NHS dental practice and/or given self-care advice until an appointment can be offered.
  • When contacting an NHS dental practice it is important that you tell the practice up front what the problem is so that they can determine the urgency of the dental need. NHS England is asking dental providers to prioritise those patients in greatest need into their available appointment slots.
  • NHS dental providers will soon be required update the NHS website with availability of NHS provision as part of some recently announced reforms.
  • Other changes to come out of the dental contract reform programme include making it easier for practices to use the skills of dental therapists and hygienists to undertake some of the work currently done by dentists. This will free up dentist time to focus on patients with more complex treatment needs.
  • The frequency in which you need to attend a dentist for a check-up is based on your oral health – if your teeth and gums are healthy, you may not need to attend as often and this could be up to two years for those with good oral health.

Here at Healthwatch Northumberland we will continue to monitor the experience of patients in the area, make NHS England aware of ongoing issues and press for positive outcomes.

If you would like to tell us about your experiences of dental services please get in touch.

 

Dentistry myth busting

Dentistry myth busting

Healthwatch teams across the North East have seen a significant increase in concerns around patients getting to see their local dentist. This is also a big problem across the rest of the country.

These concerns have been made worse by some common myths and misunderstandings around how dentist practices work. Here, we take a look at some of those myths.

1. ‘Registering’ at a practice

‘I saw my dentist a few years ago and now they say they can’t see me on the NHS. Aren’t I registered?’

Dental practices are set up within the NHS in a completely different way to GP practices so there is no formal patient registration within dentistry.

A patient is only ‘registered’ with a practice while undergoing treatment. So, you are free to approach any NHS dentist for treatment at any time.

2. They only want to work with private patients

‘My dentist said they could not see me on the NHS but offered me a private consultation.’

There is no formal patient registration within dentistry – NHS dental practices are commissioned to deliver a number of Units of Dental Activity (UDA) which they spread out over the year.

The number of UDAs used per day will depend on the treatment needs of the patients who contact the practice, for example, simple treatments like fillings and extractions equate to 3 UDAs, more complex treatment like crowns and bridges: 12 UDAs.

Whilst NHS provision must be available across the practice’s contracted opening hours, demand for NHS treatment may be so great that on any given day, depending on demand and the treatment needs of the patients who contact them, they could have used up all their NHS appointments when a patient rings.

They may, therefore, offer a private option to patients as an alternative, as they will have separate NHS and private appointment books, with separate clinical staff time allocated accordingly.

In line with national guidance all dental practices are required to prioritise patients based on clinical need and urgency into their available NHS appointments – this is called Triage. It is therefore important when you contact the practice that you fully explain the nature of your dental problem so that a clinical assessment can be undertaken to determine how quickly you need to be seen.

3. They are not doing routine work such as check-ups or scale and polish on the NHS

‘It’s impossible to get a routine check-up despite the fact I’ve not had one for over a year.’

All practices are currently working to national standard operating procedures which means that they have to prioritise patients based on clinical need and urgency. Therefore, their ability to take on patients for routine treatment such as check-ups is likely to be limited with the reduced capacity they are able to deliver, because of infection prevention control guidance.

However, if you have healthy teeth and gums, a routine check-up may not be needed for up to two years between appointments.

4. They are not doing emergency appointments.

‘I broke my tooth, but my dentist wouldn’t take me as an emergency appointment to fix it.’

Lost fillings, crowns or bridges, broken teeth or braces are not usually deemed to be clinically urgent, which means you may need to wait a little longer for an appointment.

Access to NHS urgent dental appointments is based on an individual clinical assessment of need. It is therefore important that you fully explain the nature of your dental problem to the practice or NHS 111 when you call, so they can correctly triage you.

 

Download the Dentistry Myth Busters PDF

If you have any further concerns about a dental service in your area, please visit the dental section of the NHS website where you can find further advice and an official complaints procedure.

Events

Dental Services in Rothbury – Listening Event

Dental Services in Rothbury – Listening Event

Following the closure of the Coquetdale Dental Surgery we are holding two events jointly with NHS England to understand the impact the closure has had for people in the different areas covered by the practice and to help with the development of services in the future. Please come along and talk to us if you can.

We are also holding an event in Hadston on Thursday 5 April at the Youth and Community Centre, between 10.00am and 1.00pm.

 

If you cannot attend one of these events and would like to leave feedback about dental services in these areas please contact us.

Dental Services in Hadston – Listening Event

Dental Services in Hadston – Listening Event

Following the closure of the Coquetdale Dental Surgery we are holding two events jointly with NHS England to understand the impact the closure has had for people in the different areas covered by the practice and to help with the development of services in the future. Please come along and talk to us if you can.

We are also holding an event in Rothbury on Monday 9 April at the Jubilee Hall, between 1.00pm and 3.00pm

 

If you cannot attend one of these events and would like to leave feedback about dental services in these areas please contact us.