The shortage of NHS dentists has been a major talking point up and down the country, with many areas seeing a distinct lack of available services. That has left patients with the often literally agonising choice of whether to go for expensive private treatment or simply put up with tooth problems.
With our surgeries in this area, you can still find an NHS dentist in Manchester, as well as in towns like Ashton-under-Lyne, Mossley and Dukinfield. But many places, especially rural areas, are not so lucky.
A recent report in the Daily Mail highlighted the existence of ‘dental deserts’. An interactive map by local authority in England showed how many patients there are per NHS dentist. In Manchester the figure was 4,545 while the Tameside figure was 6,250. But elsewhere it was far higher.
Bolsover in Derbyshire came out highest at 13,333, while other local authorities with over 10,000 patients per NHS dentist include Ashfield (12,658), Copeland (11,236) and Mid-Suffolk (10,309).
Mid-Suffolk may be doing worse than neighbouring East Suffolk, but the latter is set to be hit by the switch to private treatment of one of the last NHS dentists in Felixstowe, which was announced earlier this month.
The situation is worse still in very remote areas, such as up in Scotland. The closure of the Skye and Lochalsh Dental Practice, with over 4,000 patients, could mean some very long trips to find alternatives. While Some may be ‘lucky’ enough to only have to cross the Skye Bridge and get up to Portree, others might have to take a 140-mile round trip to Dingwall, just north of Inverness.
If you are looking for an NHS dentist, it is important to note that the situation is usually better in major urban areas, so while there are some grim stories for residents of many areas, that does not apply to Greater Manchester anywhere near as much.