Emergency dental cases soar in the UK

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Recent figures have revealed that the number of patients seeking emergency dental care has soared by 40 percent in the last decade alone.

The figures suggest a significant increase in the number of patients visiting hospital accident and emergency departments for dental treatment and officials have attributed the increase to problems with access to emergency NHS dental care. Last year, 24,292 patients were treated for dental problems in casualty, compared to 17,400 in 2000-2001.

According to Health Secretary, Andrew Lansley, the increase in emergency admissions shows that the current system is failing NHS patients and a significant number of patients are not getting the treatment they need. Mr Lansley said the Labour contract reform made it more difficult for patients to access NHS dental care; he said that the significant increase in emergency dental admissions was concerning not just for patients but also for members of staff working in emergency departments, as greater strain was being placed on resources.

The previous contract, which was signed in 2006 was supposed to make the system fairer and more transparent by introducing three price bands for all NHS treatments; however, costs have risen and dentists have received an average 10 percent pay increase; more than 10 percent of dentists now earn more than the Prime Minister.

Mr Lansley today vowed to reform the system and introduce a new contract, which will improve access to emergency and non-emergency dental care and make the payment system fairer; many officials have criticised the previous government for making dentists richer, whilst making it more difficult for patients to find an NHS dentist. Mr Lansley said the coalition government was working on a new dental contract, which would make it easier for people to register with an NHS dentist, promote good oral health and target children, to ensure standards of oral health improve in the future. The new contract is expected to be outlined in detail by the end of this year.

In some cases, the situation is so grave that patients have attempted to treat themselves, with some admitting to trying to pull out their teeth after failing to find an emergency NHS dentist.

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