Plymouth's dental waiting list 'tip of the iceberg'

Councillors heard the number of people waiting for NHS dental care in Plymouth had more than doubled in four years

Plymouth City Council's leader said the government should be moving "heaven and earth" to encourage more NHS dentists to the city.

Councillor Tudor Evans said the waiting list for NHS dental care in Plymouth had more than doubled in four years.

Councillors were told that the 21,729 people currently on the waiting list was "the tip of the iceberg".

The government said it had announced plans to increase dental training places by 40%.

Councillors said they heard some residents were resorting to DIY solutions to extract their own teeth to stop the pain.

'Clawed back'

Plymouth City Council said there was a current underspend for NHS dental practices of between £1.5m and £2m.

Councillors agreed to write to NHS Devon Integrated Care Board chair Dr Sarah Wollaston to insist that money be kept in the city, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

Plymouth City Council said historically the government would have "clawed back" this money.

However, in 2023/24 this would be ring-fenced and used to support Plymouth's dentistry through a new "dental taskforce", it added.

The taskforce includes NHS leaders, local MPS and other stakeholders.

Councillor Evans said: "We were in a state of shock over just how little money is actually being spent in Plymouth because they can't find people to spend it on, not the patients but the actual dentists."

A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: "We are making progress to boost NHS dental services, with 23% more courses of treatment delivered last year compared to the previous year and 1.7m more adults and 800,000 more children receiving NHS dental care.

"We fund more than £3bn of NHS dentistry a year, have announced plans to increase dental training places by 40% and we recently launched a consultation to better utilise the skills of dental hygienists and therapists."

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