Four in 10 youngsters have not seen dentist for a 12 months – as postcode lottery revealed
In three quarters of areas across the country, at least 40% of children hadn’t seen a dentist in two years, grim research by the Liberal Democrats has revealed
Some 40% of kids went without seeing a dentist for a full year in the 12 months leading to June, grim analysis shows.
In three quarters of areas across the country, at least 40% of children hadn’t seen a dentist in two years, research by the Liberal Democrats found.
The party warned families are facing a major postcode lottery with availability inconsistent across the country. In Nottinghamshire, 35% of children have not seen a dentist in two years, while in Somerset the figure is 56%, it said.
For adults, some 60% have gone without dental care for two years or more.
The Mirror has long campaigned for everyone to have access to an NHS dentist. Most dental practices in England are not taking on new NHS patients and millions of people can’t get a dentist.
Some have been left to DIY dentistry methods at home, including ripping their own teeth out.
Helen Maguire, the Lib Dems’ primary care spokeswoman, said: “This is a ticking time bomb for the NHS and for children’s health in particular.
“People are being forced to spend hundreds or even thousands on private care, while others are resorting to DIY dentistry or turning up at busy A&E departments in desperation for pain relief.
“Conservative mismanagement created this crisis, but after 18 months in power the Government’s recent attempt to tweak the system has not addressed the chronic underfunding and wider issues within NHS dental provision.”
The party has put forward a £750million dental rescue plan to end “dental deserts”. The plan would bring dentists back to the NHS from the private sector by reforming the dental contract and would introduce an emergency scheme to guarantee access to free dental checkups for children, new mothers, pregnant women and those on low incomes.
The Mirror’s Dentists for All campaign has been calling for funding to be restored for dental services and for more NHS dentists to be recruited.
In a major victory for our campaign, ministers last month announced dentists will be paid more to see patients who urgently need treatment.
Changes to the flawed NHS contract in England from April 2026 will mean dentists are incentivised to offer urgent NHS care for serious cases such as infections, severe pain or trauma to teeth.
A Department of Health and Social Care spokeswoman said: “This government inherited a broken NHS dental system and we are working at pace to fix it. This will take time but we’re already making progress – rolling out urgent and emergency appointments and bringing in supervised toothbrushing for young children in the most deprived areas.
“The changes we’re bringing in are also fixing problems at their root – working with dentists to make it easier for anyone with urgent dental needs to get NHS treatment, preventing painful conditions from spiralling into avoidable hospital admissions and benefitting patients across the country. We are also committed to modernising the dental contract to improve access, match resources to need and promote prevention.”
