A survey* by leading health care cash plan provider Sovereign Health Care has revealed that 43 per cent of adults in the UK have skipped routine or necessary dentist or optician visits in the last 12 months for fear of how much their bill for treatment could be.
Worries about money (20 per cent), increased living costs, including food and utility bills (18 per cent) and reduction in income due to job loss or cuts in benefits (13 per cent) are the top reasons for putting off vital treatment.
Seven per cent of those surveyed said they’d neglected visiting the dentist because they are not currently registered with one or are on an NHS waiting list.
People living in Leicester are the biggest dentist-dodgers (38 per cent) followed by Chelmsford (37 per cent), Oxford (36 per cent), Worcester and Aberystwyth (34 per cent). Norwich was the most conscientious city when it came to keeping up with oral health with only 10 per cent avoiding the dentist’s chair closely followed by York (12 per cent).
Top 10 cities where people have avoided the dentist in the last 12 months due to worries about cost of treatment:
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Leicester 38 per cent
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Chelmsford 37 per cent
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Oxford 36 per cent
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Worcester 33 per cent
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Aberystwyth 33 per cent
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Leeds 31 per cent
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Birmingham 30 per cent
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Wolverhampton 29 per cent
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London 28 per cent
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Southampton 28 per cent
Norwich has the best record when it comes to the visiting the dentist chair with only 10 per cent avoiding treatment. Women are the biggest offenders when it comes to missing important treatment overall with 27 per cent confessing they have avoided the dentist over the last 12 months and 1 in 5 (20 per cent) not keeping up with essential optician visits. This is compared to 23 per cent and 16 per cent respectively for men.
Young people overall are the most concerned about how much treatment might cost them with 32 per cent aged 18-24 said they have avoided the dentist and 22 per cent the optician. Those aged 35-44 are the most observant with their optician visits with only 15 per cent delaying treatment whilst the least number of people putting off dental treatment is the over 55’s (17 per cent).
Sovereign Health Care’s chief executive, Russ Piper, said: “It’s an unavoidable fact that even the most routine dental, optical or medical treatments can end up costing money. However it’s worrying to learn from this survey that so many people are putting themselves at risk by delaying dental and optical health care, putting off treatments or avoiding visits to their dentist or optician for fear of the costs they might incur.
“It’s true that bills for every day health care can soon mount up; whether it's to see a dentist or optician, for prescriptions, or a stay in hospital overnight, and this is where a cash plan can really be of benefit.”
Whether it's NHS or private, cash plans allow holders to claim back a percentage of their everyday health care costs such as glasses, contact lenses, dental check-ups, treatment and prescription charges. This can help make treatment much more affordable and accessible, particularly for those individuals and families who may be struggling to stretch the household budget.
Russ adds: “Health care cash plans are different to many other forms of insurance including private medical insurance; they are designed to pay out for everyday things and help individuals support their health. You can be perfectly healthy and still benefit!”
*OnePoll survey of 1000 UK adults aged 18 and over.