Edinburgh residents could be waiting over a year to see a dentist

Sample News Big

Edinburgh dental patients could be waiting over a year to see a dentist, with restrictions on patient numbers set to remain in place until September at the earliest.

The Chief Dental Officer for Scotland recently wrote to practices confirming that current Covid-19 restrictions will be in place until September. A review will be carried out in the autumn to establish whether it is safe to increase capacities or adjust or eliminate additional safety measures.

News of ongoing restrictions has been met with anger and frustration by some dentists in Edinburgh, where there are huge backlogs caused by the pandemic.

Local dentist, Lorna Burns, from Haymarket Dental Care, suggested that a review should be conducted urgently to allow full dental services to resume.

Ms Burns explained that the current measures are too restrictive and described them as “unnecessary.” Patient numbers are limited due to social distancing and the time taken to carry out additional cleaning, and this means that it is virtually impossible for dental teams to tackle backlogs and resume routine services.

Ms Burns called for urgent action in the capital, as emergency services are under increasing pressure and people are unable to get NHS dental appointments.

No clinics are accepting new NHS patients and people who need treatment are struggling to access urgent services due to treatment backlogs.

The situation may also get worse as a result of patients being unable to access routine care. Problems that would usually be detected and treated will go unnoticed, increasing the risk of patients needing treatment for more complex issues.

For more news click here.

Join this Discussion

Comments are closed.