Liz Wynn, manager of Southminster Residential Home in Essex, has said it has become an “impossibility” for her residents to access dental treatment.
In March 2023, a Care Quality Commission report showed that the number of residents routinely never accessing NHS dental care has grown from six to 25 per cent. The number of residents who felt they always had access to routine care had also fallen to 35 per cent.
Speaking to BBC News, Liz explained there had been “on-going concern" for 10 years about the shortage of community dentists. She has even resorted to writing to the government.
Liz said, "I do feel very passionate about it, and these people deserve the care from the dental services - it's so wrong.”
Due to increased demand and the backlogs facing dentists, it takes a long time for a dentist to reach the residents. Liz commented, "It would take them three to four months to get into a home to see the resident you've called them to see.
"Ideally, what we'd like is for our residents to be seen once every six months and at least once a year, but this is just not happening."
To prevent oral health issues from arising, Liz has relied on at-home procedures, including daily mouth checks. She said that due to overarching dental pain, underlying conditions such as dementia can be more difficult to identify.
Azeem Raja, the owner of Southminster Residential Home, said, “When you mention a resident in a care home, they're somehow a second class citizen - dental practices are simply not prepared to deal with them.
"Most care homes are in the same situation - they're deprived of dental services, the health of the residents is suffering - if the teeth aren't looked after, you will lose them quicker.
"Oral health affects a person's health, their wellbeing, their ability to eat, swallow, digest food eventually.
"It's something we believe in passionately and it's one thing we've found increasingly challenging more recently."
In April 2023, NHS Mid and South Essex received the responsibility for dentistry commissioning from NHS England. A spokesperson responded, "We are committed to ensuring everyone can access high quality dental care; this includes residents residing in care homes.
"We are currently considering a number of approaches to improve access for patients who are housebound or those in residential care homes who are not able to attend dental surgeries. "Urgent dental care is available for anyone who needs it, and people should continue to use the NHS 111 service for advice on where to go."
A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said, “We reformed the NHS dental contract to encourage more dentists to provide NHS treatments and allow dental therapists and hygienists to offer extra services, and increased the amount practices receive for high-need patients.
"There were over 500 more dentists delivering NHS care in 2022 than in 2021, but we know there is more to do, and we will be announcing further measures to improve access across the country soon."