More People In Yorkshire Visiting An NHS Dentist
Figures have shown that more people in Yorkshire are seeing a dentist; more children in the county also saw a dentist in the last 24 months, which bucked a trend across the North East.
According to statistics from the Health and Social Care Information Centre, which relate to dental visits in the two year period leading up to June 2014. Across the country, almost 30,000 adults saw an NHS dentist, which represents an increase of 1.8million patients from the two year period leading up to March 2006 when the new dental contract was introduced.
The overall percentage of patients who saw a dentist rose slightly from 55.6 per cent in 2012-2012 to 55.9 per cent in 2012-2014; however, there were significant variations between different regions and parts of the country.
Across Yorkshire, there were variations in figures, from high uptake figures of 62.9 per cent in South Yorkshire Bassetlaw compared to just 46 per cent of adults in East Riding and Outer Bradford. In cities, uptake of dental services was much higher, with figures of 8 per cent in Bradford and 78.3 per cent in Hull.
The latest figures show that there has been an improvement in access to dental services in Yorkshire; however, access remains poor in some areas, with London named as the worst area.
Chief dental officer for England, Dr Barry Cockcroft, said that the figures show a marked improvement in access to important courses of care, including preventative services for children, such as fluoride varnish.
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