Homeless dental service

There are over 3,000 people sleeping rough in London and many more in shelters or temporary accommodation. Maintaining good oral health is difficult without a settled home and can lead to health problems which, if left untreated, can become serious and affect general health. 

The initiative brings together information on specialised dental services running for homeless people at three locations across London in one leaflet. It also includes information on emergency dental services and tips on oral health. Leaflets will be distributed through an existing mobile tuberculosis screening service which reaches thousands of homeless people each year and also at homeless organisations.

Speaking at the launch of the initiative at the Whitechapel Mission homeless charity, Barry Cockcroft said: ‘The NHS has made fantastic progress in improving access to dentistry but we need to do more to reach people who still have difficulty accessing services, whatever the reason. That’s why we’re working with existing services for homeless people to give them information on where they can go for treatment. By making it easy for homeless people to find dental services especially for them we hope more people will get the dental treatment they need.’