Around 44% of children saw a dentist in the past year in England, research suggests, amid a warning some parts of the country have become “dental deserts”.
Data commissioned by the Liberal Democrats showed there are as many as 3,000 people per NHS dentist in some English areas.
Commons Library research commissioned by the party also found just one-third of adults have seen an NHS dentist in the past two years.
Out of 104 local areas in England, 65 have seen the number of people per dentist rise since 2019, the figures suggest.
North Lincolnshire, as of 2021/22, had the highest ratio of people to dentists – with one NHS practitioner for every 3,199 people.
This was higher than the national average of 2,330 people per NHS dentist in England.
Meanwhile, Bolton has seen the sharpest increase in ratio, with the number of people per dentist rising by 35% since 2019, taking it to one per 2,044.
Other areas with a sharp increase in population per dentist include Ipswich and East Suffolk (26%), West Suffolk (19%) and Barnsley (13%).
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DIY dentistry
Lib Dem leader Sir Ed Davey is expected to caution on Wednesday that the dental crisis is leading desperate people to resort to performing so-called DIY dentistry.
A poll commissioned by his party last year revealed that a fifth of people who failed to get an NHS dentist appointment attempted to do it themselves.
In the Savanta ComRes survey of 2,234 UK adults carried out in August, 21% said they attempted to carry out work on themselves or asked somebody else who was not a dentist to assist them.
Another 26% delayed seeing a dentist despite suffering pain, while more than a quarter paid for private treatment.
The British Dental Association (BDA) said its own data suggests hundreds of dentists are undertaking the equivalent of a single NHS check-up a year.
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Call to remove VAT on children’s toothbrushes
Sir Ed, who is ramping up campaigning ahead of the local elections next month, wants reforms to the NHS dental contract and is pressing for additional resources for mobile dental units to visit schools, community centres and care homes.
His party is calling for an NHS dental healthcare plan to ensure every person can access affordable dental care.
The proposals include spending what the party says is £400m of NHS dental services funding that went unspent this year in order to boost the number of appointments.
He is also demanding the removal of VAT on children’s toothbrushes and toothpaste.
“The staggering rise in dental deserts has left far too many people struggling to get an NHS dental appointment,” Sir Ed said.
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“It is heartbreaking that people are being left waiting in pain for months or even years for the dental care they need.”
He added: “This Conservative government has been asleep at the wheel for years and allowed this dental crisis to get worse and worse.
“We need to see action now to make sure everyone can see a dentist on the NHS when they need to.”
The Labour Party has been contacted for comment.
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‘We know there is more to do’
The Department of Health and Social Care said ministers were preparing to announce further measures to “improve” access to NHS dental surgeries.
A spokesman said: “We are working to improve access to NHS dental care by investing more than £3bn a year.
“We reformed the NHS dental contract to encourage more dentists to provide NHS treatments and allow dental therapists and hygienists to offer extra services, and increased the amount practices receive for high-need patients.
“There were over 500 more dentists delivering NHS care in 2022 than in 2021, but we know there is more to do and we will be announcing further measures to improve access across the country soon.”
