Where in England avoids the dentist the most?

Adults in some parts of England are four times more likely to visit their dentist than others, new statistics have revealed.

NHS Digital figures show 84 per cent of adults residing in the area ran by Norwich CCG have had a check-up in the past two years.

By contrast, just 18 per cent of adults residing in the geographical area covered by North & West Reading CCG have sat in the dreaded chair.

Officials urge patients to get checked-up at least once every two years, to keep on top of their dental health.

NHS Digital figures show 84 per cent of adults residing in the area ran by Norwich CCG have had a check-up in the past two years

But the new data shows just half of the adult population in England have seen their dentist between December 2015 and December 2017. 

Some 22.1 million patients received dental treatment in that time frame, shows data from all 207 CCGs in the country.

However, this is the total number of appointments and doesn’t establish how many individual patients have visited their dentist.  

It comes amid a worrying dental crisis which is forcing charities that normally assist third world countries to step in and help.

Dr Richard Marques, of Wimpole Street Dental, told MailOnline: ‘Some areas have better dental attendance than others which can be due to a multitude of factors. 

‘One is the availability of dentists in the area and another is the stability of the population.

‘Some areas have a more transient population with lots of big companies and people moving in and out of the area. 

‘By contrast in Norwich they have a more stable family based population that will see the dentist more regularly.

‘Ideally all adults should see the dentist every six months, with two years being the absolute maximum interval for an adult with perfect dental health.’ 

South Tyneside CCG reported the second highest percentage (80.1 per cent) of adults who had visited their dentist in the past two years. 

WHERE WERE THE FIVE BEST, AND WORST, PERFORMING CCGS IN ENGLAND? 

THE FIVE BEST FOR GETTING ADULTS TO VISIT THE DENTIST

Norwich: 84%

South Tyneside: 80.1%

Bradford City: 74.1%

Great Yarmouth & Waverley: 73.6%

South Reading: 69%

THE FIVE WORST FOR GETTING ADULTS TO VISIT THE DENTIST

North & West Reading: 18%

Surrey Heath: 30%

Richmond: 32.1%

Tower Hamlets: 33%

Barnet: 33.6% 

Bradford City CCG collected third place (74.1 per cent) for adults seen, just tipping Great Yarmouth & Waverley CCG (73.6 per cent).

At the other end of the scale, North & West Reading CCG, which covers a population of 106,000, was in its own league.

The next closest area was Surrey Heath CCG, which reported only 30 per cent of adults had seen their dentist in the past two years.

Richmond CCG (32.1 per cent), Tower Hamlets CCG (33 per cent) and Barnet CCG (33.6 per cent) were the other worst offenders. 

The figures, compiled by statistician Gemma Ramsay, also gave a breakdown of how many children saw an NHS dentist in the past year.

Their time-frame was recorded over a period of 12 months, because they are urged to have more frequent check-ups of their developing teeth.

Figures showed 6.9 million children were seen by an NHS dentist in 2017 – around 58.2 per cent of the child population.

It was revealed in January that dentists in the UK are so inundated with targets and admin that they lack the time and resources to focus on health.

This resulted in a ‘national disaster’ that has made patient treatment a low priority, according to a letter signed by more than 400 dentists.

Dentaid, a charity which works across parts of Africa, Asia and Central America, set up its first UK scheme in West Yorkshire two years ago. 

The charity has since expanded its reach, with mobile services being set up in Hampshire, Cornwall and Buckinghamshire.  



Read more at DailyMail.co.uk