English Town That Refuses to Visit the Dentist
Nearly half of the population of the London Borough town Croydon has failed to visit the dentist in the past two years.
These staggering figures show that an estimated 125,000 adults and 25,000 children in the borough have not had so much as a check up in all that time.
The credit crunch has been highlighted as the main reason as to why dentist visits in the town have been limited.
It comes at a time when dozens of dental practices in Croydon have spare capacity to take on more NHS patients.
A range of initiatives are now being launched to try and convince people of the importance of regularly seeing a dentist.
James Butcher, NHS Croydon’s specialist in dentistry, said: “We are trying to capture those people who have not been to the dentist for at least 24 months.
“Fear of dentists is obviously a reason for some people staying away.
“I’ve heard of a few cases where people have said ‘oh my Lord’ after being presented with a bill of almost £200.”
Whilst there is a shortage in Croydon, other practices accorss the country have patients enlisted on huge waiting lists before they can see their dentist.
But Croydon is in direct contrast to this, it has 40 dental practices currently accepting new NHS patients.
NHS Croydon has come up with an ingenious initiative to encourage parents to take their children to the dentists and take dental care seriously.
Toddlers are now being sent birthday cards on their third birthday, the card contains useful information for parents such as how much sugar is in chocolate bars and a voucher which can be exchanged for a Brushing For Life pack.
Mr Butcher added: “This initiative is the envy of many other primary care trusts across the country.”
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