Dr Nigel Carter, CEO of the Oral Health Foundation, said the impact of factors such as ‘Brexit’ and coronavirus, on top of dentists’ dissatisfaction with NHS contracts and too few new dentists being trained, had led to a shortage. Children and adults forced to live in agony because they are unable to register for NHS care in Somerset, charity says
Many patients in south-west England are being left in dental pain because they are unable to register for NHS care, with some so desperate that they are even resorting to DIY treatment, it has emerged.
The charity Healthwatch in Somerset has reported that it is almost impossible for a new patient to register for an NHS dentist in the county, which is leading to adults and children living in agony, self-treating, or travelling out of the area for help.