The dental survey conducted by the member of Parliament for Plymouth Sutton and Devonport revealed that of the people who responded:
- Eight in ten people said their dentistry costs were unaffordable.
- Over three-quarters of respondents indicated they had been waiting more than a year for an NHS dentist appointment.
- Seventy-four per cent stated they had been forced to go private due to a lack of NHS availability.
Luke who handed in the findings of the survey to the Department of Health and Social Care this week, said people in Plymouth are ”suffering,” due to a crisis in NHS dentistry.
Analysis by Labour also revealed that of the dental surgeries who have provided a recent update in Plymouth, only two practices confirmed they are accepting child patients and just one practice is accepting new adult patients.
In Plymouth alone, there are over 22,000 patients currently on the waiting list for an NHS dentist.
This week, a report by the British Dental Association found that just 1.4 per cent of dentists think the government’s ‘Recovery plan’ will provide NHS dentistry to “all who need it.”
Luke Pollard, member of parliament for Plymouth Sutton and Devonport, said, “The government has left NHS dentistry to rot and now our dental services in Plymouth are in decay.
“The findings of this survey paint a bleak picture of the deepening dental crises in Plymouth, people in Plymouth suffering due to a lack of NHS availability and ministers asleep at the wheel.
“I want to thank the residents of Plymouth for their testimonies which will help me make an even stronger case to ministers that they must do better and prioritise fixing NHS dentistry in Plymouth.
Anonymous respondent to the survey on not being able to access dental treatment in Plymouth, “Accessing anything dental is impossible, making building up a relationship with a dentist for those who are nervous or have SEND needs impossible and daunting.
“We are angry that, yet again, it’s a case of those who can pay for private dentistry get all the services, and those of us who are poor are left to suffer and looked down on.”