NHS Dental Places Available in North of Scotland
New figures have suggested that health boards in the North and North East of Scotland are having difficulty filling NHS dental places. Statistics show that uptake of dental places in Grampian and Highland is significantly lower than the national average.
A new report published by the government suggests that only 72 percent of adults in Grampian and 76 percent of adults in Highland are registered with a dentist. This is much lower than the national average of 84.4 percent.
Consultant in dental public health at NHS Grampian, Dr Jonathan Iloya, suggested that there have been improvements in patient uptake, despite the latest figures. The number of people registered with a dentist in the region has almost doubled in the last eight years, which marks a “significant achievement.” Now, the goal is to continue pushing figures up and encouraging those who aren’t already seeing a dentist to sign up with a local practice.
Dr Iloya suggested that figures are lower than the national average due to the provision of private dental care, which remains a popular choice in the area.This sentiment was also echoed by representatives from NHS Highland. In the last 12 months alone, more than 21,ooo people have registered with an NHS dentist in Grampian.
There have also been improvements in child registration figures and Dr Ilyoa credits the Childsmile programme as a major contributor. Childsmile is a national campaign that was launched to tackle decay and encourage children to adopt good dental habits from an early age.
Join this Discussion