Promising Dental Access Figures
The latest figures for dental access are promising, with more people able to see an NHS dentist.
The figures, which have been released as part of the GP Patient Survey, show an improvement in access to dental services; the survey was conducted between January and March this year.
Of the patients surveyed, 60 percent of people tried to get an appointment with an NHS dentist in the two-year period leading up to March 2012; of these patients, 93 percent were successful in obtaining an appointment. The survey also revealed that 95 percent of respondents who tried to book an appointment within the last six months were successful.
Survey findings revealed that 85 percent of respondents tried to make an appointment with a practice they already visited; of these people, 97 percent were successful in arranging an appointment. Twelve percent of people tried to see a dentist at a new practice; of these respondents, 77 percent were successful.
Overall, 83 percent of people rated their experience of NHS dentistry as positive, which increased to 87 percent of people who had visited a practice they had been to previously, compared to 63 percent who had visited new practices.
Forty percent of adults surveyed had not tried to see a dentist within the last two years; the most common reason cited was that there was no need for them to see a dentist.
Join this Discussion
