Swindon councillor calls for school visits amid dental place shortage
A Swindon councillor has called for dentists to start visiting schools, as children struggle to access NHS dental care.
Statistics from NHS England suggest that more than 50% of children in Swindon don’t currently have access to an NHS dentist. The access rate of 47.6% in Wiltshire is slightly higher than the national average of 46.9%.
An NHS England report was recently presented to Swindon Borough Council’s adult healthcare and housing overview and scrutiny committee. Some councillors suggested closer working relationships between schools and dentists would benefit pupils, particularly those who don’t have an NHS dentist.
Cllr Ray Ballman said that it would make sense to try to send dentists into schools, with less than 50% of children able to access services. This was a system that used to be in place and it would enable more children to benefit from routine checks and oral hygiene education and advice.
Jo Lawton, commissioner for NHS dentistry, said that the idea had merit but there were complications, including the issue of parental consent and access to services for children who were found to need further care following dentist visits. There are currently waiting lists for procedures like extractions under general anaesthetic and many children don’t have an NHS dentist they could visit after seeing a dentist at school.
The government is currently undertaking an inquiry into NHS dentistry to try to increase capacity and improve access. A spokeswoman for the Department for Health and Social Care confirmed that funding worth over £3 billion was currently being directed to dental services every year.
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