The failure of NHS dentistry.

 

At the moment I'm fortunate to have a dentist who dispenses dental treatment to NHS patients. I believe that in Cornwall, Devon and Dorset, it's almost impossible to find a dentist who will take on NHS patients.

Doesn't it seem strange that you can get a sex change operation on the NHS, but if you're in agony with toothache, you can't get NHS dental treatment in many areas of Britain and have to go private. Some people in Britain now have to borrow the money to pay for dental treatment or are pulling out their own teeth. It's what you'd expect in a third world country or some remote part of Appalachia in the U.S.A. where people walk about with no teeth.

When the NHS was introduced in 1948, dental care was free at the point of use, but charges were introduced in 1951. Although the British taxpayer pays for the training of dentists with a subsidy of "hundreds of thousands of pounds", many people can't access dental treatment as they live in "dental deserts", which don't offer NHS dental treatment.

After training, only one in three graduate dentists end up working for the NHS. Isn't it about time we stopped this racket for the middle classes, and made them pay for their own dental training unless they're prepared to work in NHS dentistry? Another alternative, is for dentistry to be made available at NHS centers.