New Preston dental practice offers 250 free appointments in July
A new dental practice based in Fulwood, Preston, offered 250 free dental appointments in July.
Dentistry by Cure Clinics opened recently at Eastway Retail Hub. As the practice had not yet reached full capacity, lead dentist Chris Ball decided to offer available appointments to local people free of charge. The team made 250 slots available for residents who live in specific postcodes close to the clinic.
Dr Ball explained that he had taken the decision because it is increasingly obvious that patients are struggling to access dental services. It is harder than ever to find a dentist that is taking on new patients “let alone make an appointment,” Dr Ball added. The lack of appointments is impacting standards of oral health so the team wanted to do something to help people who can’t find a dentist. Throughout July, they saw 250 patients for free check-ups. There were individual appointments on offer, as well as parent and child slots.
The free check-ups were available to book online for eligible patients and local people snapped up the offer, with 100 booked within a few days of the practice releasing the appointments.
Each patient received a free dental check and a personalised treatment plan, with no obligation to undergo treatment at the practice. Dr Ball said that there was no catch but that the appointments would be reserved for patients in postcodes PR1, PR2, PR3, PR4, PR5 and PR25 and PR26 postcodes who had not been able to get an appointment in the last six months.
A BBC investigation recently revealed that up to 98% of dental practices in the North West have no NHS adult places available.
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