LONDON - An acute shortage of dentists in the NHS is hurting millions of patients many of whom have not visited their dentists in the last two years, according to a new survey by Citizens Advice.
The survey of 1,800 people in England and Wales found that at least 300 people were unable to access a NHS dentist. When applied to the general population, this suggests that some 7.4 million people are unable to get to their nearest dentist.
The survey asked people about the type of dental treatment they had undergone since April 2006 when the UK Government introduced new contracts for dentists. "People on low incomes are particularly affected as private treatment is just not an option," said David Harker, the chief executive of Citizens Advice.
The survey said that at least 7.4 million people in the country had tried, but were unable to gain access to a NHS Dentist. Similarly over 2 million people decided not to take treatment, while 4 million plus people opted for private dental treatments.
NHS dentistry has been facing innumerable problems in recent years. In order to get some grip i this sector, the UK government introduced new contracts for dentists in 2006 with an aim to reduce the "drill and fill" culture prevalent in this area.
Some 1,000 dentists of a total of 21,000 did not sign the contract even though the pay was same for examining fewer patients. Since then the general population has struggled to gain access to NHS dentists because private treatment is very expensive.
Lester Ellman, of the British Dental Association, acknowledged that dentistry was getting worse for people, "The bottom line is that there are not enough dentists working in the NHS and that is because the government has failed to make it attractive enough," he added.
However Health minister Ann Keen said that recruiting dentists was now a national priority in the health sector, "We are working hard to improve access to NHS dentists and the government remains fully committed to expanding services," she stressed.
