Access to Dentistry March 2023

This report is by Healthwatch Bolton. The project looks at the issue of local dental access.

A mixture of online surveys and engagement with local people were used to gather local views. A total of 150 people's views were gathered through the survey.

There are recommendations in this report.

• Ensure that there are sufficient resources to allow people needing access to NHS dentistry can get the treatment they desperately need. Many people do not meet the criteria to access urgent dental care and are therefore left with nowhere to turn, and their dental issues needlessly becoming ‘urgent’.
• Understand the wider impact on people’s physical and mental health, of not having regular access to NHS dentistry.
• Health professionals also need to be making their voice heard in the case to improve access to NHS dentistry.
• If people are offered urgent care, when appropriate, ensure patients are referred to Greater Manchester Access Plus Scheme* for the necessary follow-up treatment. This will prevent the patient from needing access to urgent dental care in the immediate future.
• Ensure that anyone with a maternity exemption certificate can access an NHS dentist
• Understand and act on the need for children and young people to have access to adequate NHS dentistry. Prevention should be the key element so that children and young people are not storing up issues for the future.
• Improve education and availability of free resources to help people understand the importance of looking after their teeth. This should be extended to care homes so that older people can maintain good oral health eg. people living with dementia.
• Ensure that the NHS England website is kept up to date so that people can see if there are any NHS dentists offering vacancies.
• It is paramount that dental practices make provision for people with disabilities to access treatment.
• Ensure that there is up to date information available for people to find out where they can access an NHS dentist and importantly - what they should do if they are unable to do this. There should also be readily available information regarding prevention and how to look after oral health.

There are no follow up actions in this report.

However there is a follow up response from the provider.