Dentistry in York - gaps in provision
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Healthwatch York undertook a survey of access to NHS dentistry in 2021 and compared results with a previous survey in 2018.
In 2018, 84% said they had a dentist. In 2021 this 59% said they had a dentist. This represents a decline over 3 years of 30%.
Those respondents who did not have an NHS dentist were asked why this was so. In 2018 46% of people replied that they ‘couldn’t find a dentist taking on NHS patients’. In 2021 this had risen to 71%, an increase of 54%.
There was a large increase in the percentage of respondents who had not seen their dentist for 1-2 years (a 200% increase), 2-3 years (a 633% increase), ‘only in emergencies’ (a 200% increase) and ‘I don’t’ (a 100% increase).
In 2018 the percentage of respondents replying that cost had stopped them getting dental treatment was 28%, in 2021 it was 40% (an increase of 43%).
In 2018 8% strongly disagreed with the statement ‘I can get appointments with my dentist when I need them’. In 2021 41% of respondents strongly disagreed with this statement (an increase of 413%).
In 2018 7% of respondents strongly disagreed with the statement ‘my dentist is in a convenient location for me.’ In 2021 this percentage had risen to 26% (an increase of 271%)
In 2018 45% of respondents rated their experience as ‘excellent’, in 2021 this had fallen to 27% (a reduction of 40%).
Over a quarter (27%) of the respondents to the question ‘Do you all go to the same dentist?’ reported that ‘none of us has a dentist’. Of those who answered yes or no to this question, in 2018 36% of respondents said that ‘not everyone in the household had the same dentist’. In 2021 this was 68%.
In 2018 the majority of respondents went to the same dentist (74%). In 2021 this had reduced to 46%.
In 2018 69% of respondents said that they were happy with their family’s arrangements for visiting a dentist. In 2021 this had reduced to 27%.
In 2018 6% of respondents reported that their dental practice was ‘not at all accessible’. In 2021 this had risen to 32% (an increase of 433%).
Out of 153 respondents 79 (52%) reported having one or more of the problems associated with dental pain or poor oral health listed in our survey. Of those that listed at least one symptom 43% reported not being able to sleep properly, 40% reported feeling self conscious about their appearance, 25% unable to eat healthy food, 10% unable to work, 6% unable to undertake physical exercise, 3% unable to care for someone else and 21% listed ‘other’.