Thousands more seeing NHS dentists in Yorkshire

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Thousands more adults are seeing an NHS dentist in Yorkshire, according to recent figures from the NHS Information Centre.

Figures showed that almost 2.35 million people saw an NHS dentist in the two year period leading up to June 2011, an increase from less than 2.2 million in the two years leading up to March 2006.

Despite the improved figures, there were significant differences between areas within the region; fewer than half of adults in North Yorkshire, East Riding, North Lincolnshire and Leeds saw a dentist, in contrast to Doncaster, Hull and Wakefield, where percentages were 72.7, 66 and 63.8 respectively.

There have been significant improvements in East Riding but access is still a problem; 25,000 more people saw a dentist over the last two years, but the proportion is still less than half.

The figures also suggested that more young people are seeing an NHS dentist; numbers have increased by 2.7 percent, despite national trends, which suggest that fewer children and young people are receiving regular NHS dental treatment. There were considerable increases in the number of children treated by NHS dentists in Kirklees, Bradford and Rotherham, which have been identified as areas where tooth decay rates are amongst the highest in the UK.

The 2006 dental contract introduced by Labour is attributed to many problems with the NHS dental system, but since changes have been made, the system has improved and the number of dentists working in Yorkshire has increased by around 400, which represents an increase of double the national average.

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