Is the Government doing enough to tackle the dentistry crisis - vote in our poll
Dentists will be offered cash incentives to relocate to areas with workforce shortages, but do YOU think the Government is doing enough to tackle Britain’s dentistry crisis?
Under the plans announced today, NHS dentists will be handed "new patient" payments of between £15 and £50, to treat the one million Brits who have not seen a dentist in two years or more. It has been claimed that the £200million plan could see 2.5million extra appointments offered over the next year, but experts warn the figure is not enough to restore the cripping dental crisis.
The British Dental Association (BDA) said the proposals "won’t halt the exodus from the workforce or offer hope to millions struggling to access care", while the Nuffield Trust explained the NHS’s dental service is at its "most perilous point in its 75-year history".
The Dental Recovery Plan will see new parents given advice on looking after their baby’s milk teeth, while teams will be sent into schools to teach children about oral hygiene. What’s more, dental vans will be deployed to rural areas, and dentists will be offered £20,000 over three years to move to places where there are shortages.
This comes as one in four adults in England were unable to get dental care last year - equivalent to more than 12million people. To make matters worse, around 90 percent of dental practices are no longer accepting new NHS adult patients, forcing people to turn to DIY dentistry.
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This week, police were called to manage hundreds of people lined up outside a dentist in Bristol, desperate to secure a place at the newly-opened NHS practice. Eddie Crouch, chair of the BDA, said that it was "completely shocking" that people had to queue on the streets in order to get dental access.
"We've seen a decade of neglect with the NHS dental service. We believe it is one area of the NHS which has seen a net reduction of around £1 billion than ten years ago,” he added. Labour’s Wes Streeting said: "After 14 years of Conservative neglect, patients are desperately queuing around the block to see a dentist, literally pulling their own teeth out, and tooth decay is the number one reason for 6 to 10-year-olds being admitted to hospital.
"The Conservatives are only promising to do something about it now there’s an election coming… It will be left to the next Labour government to rescue NHS dentistry and get patients seen on time once again." The Mirror has joined forces with the BDA to launch a petition on the 38 Degrees website calling on the PM to "save NHS dentistry and make it fit for the 21st century".
It is demanding that the Government properly funds NHS dentistry, so everyone who needs care can secure it. Following the latest news, we want to know if YOU think the Tories are doing enough to tackle Britain's dental crisis. Vote in our poll HERE to have your say.
The Mirror will also be discussing the topic with you in the comments section below and you can join in! All you have to do is sign up, submit your comment, register your details and then you can take part.
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