Figures show 70% drop in courses of child dental treatment
New figures have revealed a 70% drop in courses of child treatment since 2019.
Statistics suggest that 12 million courses of NHS dental treatment were completed in England in 2020/2021. This equates to a 69% decrease from the 38.4 million courses of treatment delivered for children in 2019/2020.
Data from NHS Digital showed that numbers plummeted during the first lockdown, which started in March 2020, with the vast majority of clinics closing. Between April 2020 and March 2021, dentists in England delivered 3.3 million courses of treatment for children, compared to 11.6 million in the previous year.
The British Dental Association (BDA) estimates that approximately 9 million children missed out on dental care in the 12-month period following the first lockdown. Dental practices closed at the end of March until the beginning of June, but most have been operating at reduced capacity since, meaning millions of appointments have been cancelled.
Chair of the BDA’s general dental practice committee, Shawn Charlwood, said that “millions are still missing out on dental care, and patients will be paying the price for years to come. Dentists in England have had capacity slashed by pandemic restrictions and need help to get patients back through their doors.”
The BDA has called for the ministers in charge of dental care in England to follow other UK governments in providing funding to increase capacity, including funding for enhanced ventilation systems for surgeries and a new roadmap for providing safe treatment.
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