Research reveals the urgent need to grow access to dentistry

A survey of {my}dentist’s clinicians across more than 600 dental practices, carried out during lockdown, revealed 96 per cent of dentists, therapists and hygienists believe lockdown has had an adverse impact on the nation’s oral health and that greater access to affordable dental care is needed.

{my}dentist, the country’s largest provider of affordable and NHS dental care, is calling for an urgent review of access to dentistry in response to the challenges.

Eighty-eight per cent of those surveyed believed the UK’s dental health could decline because of a lack of routine appointments leading to preventative dental issues worsening. And a further 77 per cent are especially worried that oral cancers will be missed and not referred. Sixty per cent of the clinicians asked also believe that some patients could put off going to the dentist to treat minor symptoms, such as toothache and bleeding gums, leading to larger problems in the longer-term. 

But it’s not just a lack of access to dental practices during lockdown that dentists fear will leave a lasting impact on the nation’s health. Seventy-eight per cent of {my}dentist clinicians worry about the impact on oral and dental health of lockdown comfort eating and over-indulgence in alcohol, sweets, snacks and sugary drinks.