Dental Services in Bury

Healthwatch Bury carried out a survey about going to the dentist between March and May 2019. There were 59 responses.

Findings

 53% of people surveyed told us that they are registered with an NHS dentist and 41% said they are registered with a private dentist. 7% of the respondents stated they are not registered with a dentist at all.

71% of people surveyed rated their experience with their dentist ‘Excellent’, ‘Very Good’ or ‘Good’.

Overall, dentists across Bury appear to provide a good service with patient satisfaction at high levels.

 In addition to this survey, the general feedback that Healthwatch Bury has received on dental services has been positive. One concern, raised by a few patients, related to lack of information on the cost of treatment prior to the treatment starting. Another concern that patients have recently raised relates to lack of awareness of dental penalty charges.

Information available on the NHS Choices website, show that 2 local dental practices state they are currently accepting new NHS patients and 5 dental practices currently accept children as new NHS patients. 11 dental practices have not supplied that data in the last 90 days. According to the dates shown on NHS Choices some of the information may not have been updated for at least three months. It’s difficult for people looking for a new dentist to make an informed choice, if they don’t have access to up to date information.

 Recommendations

• all dental practices should give patients a personal dental treatment plan outlining any information on the treatment and any possible costs that a patient may incur prior to the start of treatment
• all dental practices should display clear current information regarding dental penalty charges.
• all information should be provided in plain English and regularly reviewed/updated