The Slow Death of NHS Dentistry: Feature on ITV's Tonight Programme
Did you see the Tonight programme on ITV highlighting the access issues with NHS dentistry?
Since the pandemic, the issues with access to dental care across the country have been regularly highlighted in the news, national media and in the House of Commons. People have struggled either suffering in dental pain, taking out loans to pay for private dental care, resorted to DIY dentistry or travelled long distances to get the care they desperately need.
Dental care is essential health care. Not only can toothache stop someone eating, sleeping and functioning, but not seeing a dentist regularly can have even more severe consequences.
In this programme, ITV visited one of our Dentaid clinics where we look after head and neck cancer patients. We were asked to do so because patients who were diagnosed with this cancer found getting the dental treatment they needed before starting their radiotherapy was being delayed as many didn't have a dentist. We also look after patients during and after their cancer treatment and hear stories about how not being able to get a dentist to maintain what teeth they have left and give them back function (for example, dentures after having teeth out pre-radiotherapy) affects their quality of life. Dentists also provide essential cancer screening and could save a person's life!
Check out the programme here.
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