Halifax facing "dental timebomb" unless patients start attending regular check-ups

The cost of living crisis and a shortage of NHS dentists is to blame, according to a new survey.

West Yorkshire has 653 NHS dentists serving a population of 2,325,000 - or one NHS dentist for every 3,560 residents.

Halifax has 11 NHS dentists, and according to the NHS dentist finder;

The average gap between children having dental appointments in the town stands at 15 months.

Men wait an average of five years between check-ups and 45 per cent don’t go to the dentist at all unless they have a problem.

Women wait an average of three years between check-ups and 35 per cent only go if they have an issue.

The cost of living crisis is a key factor in patients putting off going to dentist, while shortage of NHS dentists is a second factor in patients delaying appointments.

The results are from a new survey of 5,000 people by the website Dental Phobia.

Dentist Rhona Eskander, a world leader in dental care, said: “Halifax is facing a dental timebomb if patients don’t get back into the habit of seeking regular check-ups.

“What is most worrying is that the cost of living crisis is forcing some parents to cut corners with their children’s teeth.

“Regular dental appointments are easy to put off and lots of people in West Yorkshire got out of the habit of going to the dentist during Covid and have not returned.

“Patients end up losing their teeth because small cavities which could be fixed inexpensively when they first develop grow quickly without treatment.

“And more serious conditions such as the early signs of oral cancer - particularly important for patients who smoke and drink regularly - are often first spotted by dentists.

“One of the most common signs of head and neck cancer is an ulcer which develops in the mouth and does not heal within 14 days. Caught early, survival rates are good but they drop rapidly.”

Rachel Dilley, chief operating officer of the Town Hall Dental Group, said: "The NHS dental model exists to provide basic dental care for the UK population and has delivered exactly that for the last 50 years and more

"However the current NHS contract is unworkable for dentists and has become a UDA (units of dental activity) factory with much less time to focus on better patient care and treatments for all.

"What many people do not realise is that there is little incentive to over perform your NHS contract but there are draconian penalties if you don’t and with a shortage of dentists willing to work in the NHS the challenge of delivery is becoming an ever increasing challenge.

"Ultimately the losers are patients who can’t get treatment or even on list "

Halifax MP Holly Lynch said: "It is clear that under the Conservative Government, basic dental care has become completely unattainable.

"Earlier this month, over 500 people signed my petition stating that they cannot access NHS dental care in Halifax, with parents sharing harrowing stories of being unable to access dental for their children.

"I presented this to the Government, and demanded that they improve local access. The pandemic made an already bad situation worse, with the system which sees dentists reimbursed for undertaking NHS work so utterly broken, dentists feel they have little choice other than to walk away from the NHS.

"The Government now has to respond to the petition in writing but I will also be sharing my findings with the West Yorkshire Joint Health Scrutiny Committee."

Click here to find out how many NHS dentists there are where you live: https://www.dentalphobia.co.uk/nhs-dentists-in-england/.