A fifth of Wakefield people have never tried to book an NHS dentist appointment

The British Dental Association (BDA) said people are being pushed towards private practices by lack of finances in the NHS and restrictions on the services they can offer.

Of the 4,110 people in the Wakefield CCG who responded to this year’s GP Patient Survey – conducted between January and March – 20 per cent said that they had never tried to book an appointment with an NHS dentist.

It means fewer people are looking to the NHS for their tooth care. Five years ago, 17 per cent had never tried to book an appointment with an NHS dentist.

When those who had not tried to book an appointment in the last two years were asked why, the most common reason given was that they had not needed to see a dentist.

But across England, the most common reason given was that they preferred to see a private dentist.

The chairman of the BDA, Mick Armstrong, said that there are several reasons why people may have chosen not to access NHS dentistry.

He said: “Socio-economic factors will play a part. The more affluent may choose to see a dentist privately because it may be quicker to see a dentist and because of the perception of ‘bespoke’ care, because of the wider choice of dental materials available, and access to services which are not available on the NHS.

“In other instances, they may choose this route because of restrictions placed on NHS services, for example orthodontics, or treatments rarely available such as implantology.”

This year’s survey also showed that 13 per cent of patients in the Wakefield CCG had not tried to book to see their NHS dentist in the last two years. While time-frames for how often patients should see their dentist vary depending on personal circumstances, the NHS recommends that everyone see a dentist at least every two years.

The BDA said that the NHS budget is only sufficient to cover care for half of the English population, which is fuelling growing access problems. These factors could influence patients who do attempt to access care.

Despite this, 93 per cent of patients in the Wakefield CCG who did try to book an appointment were successful.

Approval rates for NHS dentists in the area are strong. This year’s survey showed that 87 per cent of patients rated their dentist as either very good or fairly good.