NHS Dental Access Report
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Healthwatch Tameside report on their feedback on access to an NHS dentist during the Covid-19 pandemic. They received feedback from 75 from the beginning of lockdown in March up to 16 November 2020.
Nearly a third experienced cancellations of appointments at the start of lockdown, including a few being left mid-treatment.
Nearly half said they were unable to find a dentist who would provide NHS treatment. A third of those had severe pain.
As dentists started to re-open, they had a large backlog of patients waiting for appointments. Some people said they were offered private care but could not afford to pay.
Many people are still unable to access care. Dentists are not taking on new patients whilst they have so many existing patients waiting for care. At the end of September, Healthwatch Tameside rang every dentist in Tameside. Most said they were not accepting new NHS patients.