12,000 extra appointments in Lincolnshire’s ‘dental desert’

Councillors described access to dentists as “just not good enough”.

The government says that access to NHS dentistry is becoming a “lottery”, and it has told Lincolnshire’s healthcare providers to arrange 700,000 extra appointments.

Places with the worst scarcity and highest level of unmet needs, like Lincolnshire, are getting the highest priority.

A health committee at Lincolnshire County Council this week heard the challenges people faced in getting an appointment.

Coun Tom Smith (Con) said: “My mother has not been able to see a dentist for so long because she hasn’t been able to afford it.

“She now sadly has an issue that is beyond repair.

“In the fifth richest country in the world, that’s not on. It could lead to quite a serious operation.

“It’s not good enough for anyone’s mother, girlfriend or anyone else.”

A national survey of patients shows that one in four patients who tried to see a dentist in the past two years were unable to do so.

Jason Wong, Chief Dental Officer for England, said: “Dentists are working hard to help as many patients as possible but too many people experience difficulties in accessing NHS dental services.

“It is vital that we do more to improve access – we are working with local systems to prioritise this, which includes providing 700,000 additional urgent dental appointments to help make it quicker and easier for those most in need to be seen and treated on the NHS and we are incentivising dentists to work in underserved areas so that all areas of the country can receive the care they need.”