The lack of NHS dentists in Eden is resulting in people seeking free treatment being referred to practices in Northumberland, Tyne and Wear, or Blackburn, Lancashire.
Patients are being expected to either travel miles out of the county for appointments or call NHS 111, with Eden and North Cumbria continuing to become a “dental desert”.
Next month, a health scrutiny committee for Westmorland and Furness Council plans a deeper delve into the issue by hearing from NHS bosses.
Committee chair, councillor Janet Battye, said: “Access to NHS dentistry is a massive problem for so many residents across Westmorland and Furness.
“Time and time again I’m hearing stories of people having to travel out of the area just to get a basic check-up.
“We will be looking at this very issue next month when we’ll be asking the integrated care boards what is being done to increase provision so people can get vital dental treatment.”
This week, Penrith dentist John Lewis, of the Ghyllmount Dental Practice, who is the chairman of the North Cumbria Local Dental Committee, gave his support to a new petition created by Westmorland and Lonsdale MP Tim Farron.
Mr Farron has produced figures which state that more than 240,000 children in North Cumbria and the North East, have not seen a dentist in the past 12 months. Also, 1.1 million adults across that region have not seen a dentist in the last two years, he said.
The petition, signed so far by 1,700 people, calls on the Government to increase the number of dental appointments in rural areas; reform NHS dental contracts, and make it easier to recruit experienced dentists to fill vacancies in rural areas.
Mr Farron said: “The Conservative government has allowed NHS dental provision in Cumbria to reach crisis level, with far too many patients no longer able to access NHS treatment. Having heard from dentists, patients, and having raised this in the House of Commons, we need to show the strength of public support for fixing this crisis. Some of the stories I have heard from residents unable to access care are appalling, including people forced to turn to dangerous DIY dentistry. This issue cannot simply be ignored.”
Private patients not on care plans can also expect to pay more than £70 for an examination as a new patient, and more than £60 for routine hygiene work like scale and polish — rising to hundreds of pounds for fillings, crowns and bridges.
Waiting times for appointments, surgeries and check-ups have continued to grow as dentists try to make headway through the backlog created during the COVID pandemic with many no longer allowing new patients on to their rolls.
During lockdown, routine dental appointments were closed to only urgent appointments, while patient numbers at dentists fell with strict infection prevention and control measures being imposed.
But the gap in treatments has now increased the “urgency and complexity” of dental work required by patients — further adding to the burden faced by practices.
NHS bosses for North Cumbria and the North East recently reported that demand for care remains “extremely high”.
