Dental health becomes part of election frenzy
Dental health has been thrown into the media spotlight following a call for better services by the Shadow Health Secretary, Andrew Lansley.
The Tory MP was in Reading yesterday and said that research in the area had suggested that dental health was a priority for many local people; Tory candidate Alok Sharma has been conducting surveys and carrying out visits over the last few months and has been shocked by the number of people struggling to gain access to NHS dental provision. Mr Lansley went on to say that he was eager to help more people establish a positive relationship with their patients and was keen to promote preventive dentistry throughout the country.
Over the course of the last year, NHS Berkshire has opened three new practices, located in Newbury, Shinfield and Twyford, yet many people still suffer with poor oral health and a significant proportion do not visit their dentist on a regular basis.
Other election candidates have reacted to Mr Lansley’s comments, with Labour’s Naz Sarkar saying the problems of access and places are minimal in the Reading area but there are still “pockets” where provision is poor; he said he will fight to ensure every single person has access to the care they need. Liberal Democrat candidate, Daisy Benson, said she was more concerned with the prevalence of tooth decay amongst children and her party would target this problem by improving education and making services more accessible to children and parents.
The Green Party candidate said his party would overhaul the current system in order to make dental free, in line with pledges that all NHS care should be free; he went on to say that they would fund this move by “scrapping things like nuclear weapons.”
Reading West looks set to be a close-run fight, with no party claiming a significant majority in opinion polls so far; the subject of dental health could yet prove conclusive.
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