Some children in parts of England have ‘never’ seen a toothbrush, a dentist has shockingly claimed.
Dentist Stuart McCance, who visits schools in Norfolk and Waveney to promote good oral hygiene, said for some six-year-olds he was the first dentist they had ever seen.
“In some cases we find that it is the first time children see a dentist – and they are five or six years old – when we have to see children at six months old when their first tooth comes out,” he told the BBC.
“Some, even more alarmingly, have never seen a toothbrush.”
His statement is the latest damning indictment of the state of NHS dentistry as patients and parents are unable to book an appointment.
A dentist visiting schools in Norfolk and Waveney said some children had never seen a toothbrush in the country’s recent oral health charge (stock photo).
Dentist Stuart McCance added that some children had “never seen a toothbrush before.”
The east of England, which Mr. McCance visited, is one of the areas hardest hit by the national dental crisis.
Less than half (45.3 per cent) of children have seen a dentist there in the past year, according to the latest NHS data.
And it is reported that no dental practices in the Norfolk and Waveney area are accepting children as new NHS patients.
This leaves parents with no choice but to either pay expensive fees for a private visit to the dentist or do without it altogether.
Mr. McCance visits schools as part of the Happy Smiles Club, an initiative of John G Plummer Dentists in Norwich.
Five schools have been participating in the club since last March, dentists and dental assistants visit the students to educate them about oral health and carry out examinations if necessary.
They said they found half of just over half of the 169 children they saw at an unnamed school (88) need urgent dental treatment.
Meanwhile, they also found that 82 of the children were not registered with a dentist.
Dental assistant Chloe Blake, who also volunteers with the Happy Smiles Club, said the practice where she worked was constantly being asked if they could take on new patients.
“We went through a phase where we were taking in patients — just kids — but we just got overwhelmed,” she said.
The latest figures from LG Information – a database run by the Local Government Association (LGA) – showed that at the start of 2023 there was just one NHS dental practice for every 4,975 people nationwide.
Read more: NHS dental crisis leaves thousands of elderly care home residents unable to attend appointments, many in severe pain and unable to eat, regulator warns
The percentage of care home residents who never have access to an NHS dentist has quadrupled in just three years, a damning report shows (stock photo)
North Norfolk even exceeds the national average with one NHS dental practice for every 4,695 residents.
But in South Norfolk and East Suffolk, where Waveney is based, the ratio to an NHS dental practice rises to 6,803 and 7,246 people respectively.
Some parts of the country are even worse, with just one NHS dental practice for every 13,000 people.
And national NHS data showed the East of England had the second lowest number of children seen by an NHS dentist in the last 12 months, surpassed only by London, which had just 40.6 per cent of children in the year to June 2022 who visited a dentist.
All children in England are entitled to free NHS dentistry, but a shortage of dentists to care for new patients means many parents are unable to take advantage of it.
Earlier this month, industry insiders bemoaned the state of NHS dentistry as around 11 million people in England were unable to get an NHS dental appointment last year.
The rise of so-called ‘dental deserts’, where it is becoming increasingly difficult for Britons to get affordable dental treatment, has been blamed for the rise of ‘do-it-yourself’ dentistry.
This led to desperate Brits resorting to shoelaces and pliers to pull out their own rotting teeth, or to make homemade dentures from resin and superglue.
As the Covid pandemic has deepened the crisis, NHS dental services have been in trouble for years.
Recent industry surveys indicate that even more dentists are considering full privatization in the near future.
London has the lowest proportion of adults who have visited an NHS dentist in two years, according to data from NHS Digital. The North East and Yorkshire recorded the highest rate at 41.8 per cent
The worst area in the country to receive NHS dental care is Kent, with just 407 dentists for a population of almost 1.6 million – or one in 3,904 people. While Hampshire, where the dental crisis has been raging for several years, is ranked as the second worst offender, with just one NHS dentist for every 3,773 people in its 1.85 million population
Groups such as the British Dental Association argue that under the current NHS contract it is no longer financially viable to offer NHS procedures due to the lack of government investment.
The NHS dental contract scheme is currently being reviewed by the Department of Health and social committee.
One of the Brits who took matters into his own hands was Antony Watson from Bridlington, Yorkshire.
Mr. Watson originally broke a tooth 20 years ago when dentists gave him a crown at the time.
But he damaged it a second time after biting into a biscuit.
He said he could not get an NHS appointment because he was not registered with any clinic and “absolutely could not afford” to pay for private treatment “on the spot”, forcing him to seek treatment elsewhere for ‘ looking for a solution.
Mr. Watson searched online for dental kits for home delivery and settled on the £3.99 kit because of the benefit of next day delivery.
The kit contained a 20g bag of plastic beads which were then melted with boiling water and shaped to conform to the shape of your damaged teeth.
Meanwhile, Lincolnshire resident Alex Gray was also forced to pull six of his teeth himself after being unable to find an NHS dentist.
The retired roofer was unable to find an NHS dentist after moving to Lincolnshire six years ago.
If a tooth “starts falling out,” he’ll take painkillers, he said, and “wait until it goes numb” before trying to pull the tooth out with pliers.
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Crystal Leahy is an author and health journalist who writes for The Fashion Vibes. With a background in health and wellness, Crystal has a passion for helping people live their best lives through healthy habits and lifestyles.
