At Get Dental Plans, we wanted to share this article from Health Insurance Daily about the increased pressure on NHS Dentists. We understand that with this pressure on the NHS a dental insurance plan can help you to get the dental treatment you need. As we offer a wide selection of dental insurance plans that can be used in NHS and private dentists alike, you don’t need to take the risk with your dental health. You can see our dental plans here.
Dental health standards in some parts of England are falling to Third World levels, because of a crisis of access to NHS treatment, dentists have said.
In a letter to The Telegraph, a coalition of 400 dentists said the system is “unfit for purpose” with millions of people going for long periods without seeing a dentist or ignorant of basic dental hygiene.
Official figures show large numbers of primary school children have to be admitted to hospital to be treated for serious tooth decay and other dental problems, many of which could be easily prevented, the dentists said. NHS figures show almost half of the adult population of England (48%) and a third (31%) of children have not seen a dentist within two years. Almost 62,500 people are admitted to hospital in England every year because of tooth decay.
“The NHS dental system in England is unfit for purpose”, the dentists wrote. “Far from improving, the situation has worsened to such an extent that charity groups normally associated with providing dental care in Third World arenas now have to do so in England.”
A spokeswoman for NHS England said: “These claims are wrong – more patients are getting the dental care they need, and 93% of people got an NHS dental appointment when they wanted one in the last 24 months.”