Patients suffering as rot sets in for NHS dentistry

AS practitioners across the county warn that National Health Service (NHS) dentistry is in a ‘death spiral’, a local father has claimed it is over two years since his sons received a routine check-up.

The Western Health Trust historically has some of the highest levels of child tooth decay in the UK and Ireland. Without urgent reform, these figures could get far worse.

Recently, more than 700 dentists across the North told the Department of Health (DoH) that radical action is required to save NHS dentistry.

The British Dental Association (BDA) Northern Ireland say the crisis has been caused by an insufficient payment package for dentists performing NHS appointments, as well as the rising cost of dental materials. Dentists are further worried these problems could be exacerbated by a potential ban on a relatively affordable amalgam used in fillings.

But, as the situation continues to deteriorate, some local people who have been struggling to make appointments are finding it difficult to empathise with the professionals who they feel are ignoring them.

“It used to be the norm that your practice would call you up once a year and tell you when your child was due their routine check-up.

“This seems to no longer be the case,” said John Magee, a local author and father-of-two.

SHORTAGE

“I know the pandemic created a lot of problems, many of which we are still working through, and my boys (aged 11 and 15) have always taken wonderful care of their teeth, but I knew it had been well over a year since they had been called, so I rang up the practice to ask about their next appointments, and got told that due to a shortage of dentists it may be early in the New Year (2024).”

The New Year came but the call John was waiting on did not.

“In January, I tried again, only to be given a virtually identical excuse, which, to be honest, made even less sense the second time around.”

John said he was told that the practice was offering emergency NHS appointments, but that current circumstances were making it difficult to book a regular NHS check-up.

“They didn’t have enough dentists to provide NHS check-ups for my children but were keen to offer me two immediate private appointments,” said the Omagh man.

“I know we have been without an executive for a long time and I understand that we are living through a period of widespread financial hardship, but it seems absurd to me that children are being denied – or, at least, severely inhibited from – access to free dental care. I would advise other parents to call their dentist and make enquiries as to when their children will have their next free NHS check-up.”