British Dental Foundation Reveals Significant Increase in Helpline Calls

Sample News Big

The UK’s leading dental charity, the British Dental Health Foundation, has reported a significant increase in the number of calls to its helpline in the last 12 months.

The latest figures show an increase of 17 percent in the number of calls to the helpline in the last year. The increase is the second consecutive rise in calls to the Dental Helpline in as many years.

The BDHF believes that the main causes are increased accessibility of cosmetic dental treatment, the growing media presence of sugar and other dietary issues related to dental health and persistent confusion about the availability of NHS dental services and dental charges.

The Dental Helpline was established in 1997 with a view to providing people with information about dental services and treatments and advice about dental health issues. In the last 18 years, it has taken nearly half a million phone calls.

Dental Helpline adviser Karen Coates believes that the helpline is so popular because it gives people the chance to talk to professionals with expertise in the field of dentistry, which provides them with accurate information that they may find hard to access online, given the incredible number of sources and sites. Technology has contributed to a shift in the way people seek information and many people now search online, rather than calling for advice. However, it appears that the Dental Helpline is bucking this trend and people value the chance to speak to dental professionals.

The most common reasons for calling in the last year were to find out about prosthetic dentistry, to seek advice about finding a dentist and to learn more about NHS dentistry and charges.

Dr Nigel Carter OBE, chief executive of the BDHF, said that the success of the Dental Helpline lies in its ability to provide people with expert advice about issues that are relevant to them.

Join this Discussion

Comments are closed.