Thousands Of New NHS Dental Places Made Available In Plymouth In 2012
Thousands of new NHS dental places have been made available in Plymouth in 2012, it has been revealed.
Ministers were informed that 6,500 new places have been created in the city, with the increase largely due to the opening of Peninsula Dental School and graduates choosing to stay in the area to work.
Despite the positive news about dental places, Labour MP for Plymouth Moor View, Alison Seabeck, said that there are still issues in the city, with cost proving a major struggle for many families. Ms Seabeck said that families are finding it difficult to pay for dental treatment as a result of the recession. She claimed that the cost of dental care is rising but investment in oral hygiene education and preventative care would save money, not just in terms of oral health treatments, but also for other conditions, which can be linked to poor oral health, including heart disease, diabetes and oral cancer.
Ms Seabeck also spoke during a parliamentary debate on oral health issues, which she helped to organise, to emphasise the importance of preventative dental treatment and oral hygiene.
Addressing the House of Commons, Ms Seabeck said that routine care and good brushing habits reduce the need for complex and expensive courses of treatment; she also claimed that access to ion balanced fluoridated water was a “good thing.”
Ms Seabeck said that although the number of dental places has increased in Plymouth, there is still a way to go.
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