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British Dental Association warnings – LGA response
Cllr David Fothergill, Chairman of the Local Government Association’s Community Wellbeing Board, responded to warnings from the British Dental Association that there are 2.2 million people who need dental treatment but are unable to get an NHS dental appointment
“These findings reinforce our previous warnings of significant numbers of dental deserts across the country, with many people lacking access to affordable dental care, particularly in rural and deprived communities.
“A lack of NHS dentists could risk people choosing to forgo routine dental treatments or even resort to DIY dentistry, risking more costly emergency dental treatments being needed further down the line.
“The Government should reform the contract it has with dental surgeries as well as develop a workforce strategy to ensure we can have affordable dental treatments for communities across the country.
“With oral health inequality widening, the LGA would like to see more preventive programmes and investment in tried-and-tested local authority schemes."
