'Dental deserts' on the rise in East Yorkshire MP warns

An NHS spokesperson said the first reforms to dentistry services since 2006 had been announced which would help practices to treat more patients

An MP has said he fears parts of East Yorkshire have become "dental deserts" with people waiting up to two years to see a dentist.

Graham Stuart, the MP for Beverley and Holderness, said he wanted to get waiting times in the region down.

Mr Stuart said he had raised his concerns about the waits with NHS England officials.

Reforms to dentistry announced this year, would help improve access, an NHS spokesperson said.

Mr Stuart spoke about his concerns after a local councillor conducted her own research into waiting times.

Graham Stuart MP for Beverley and Holderness, said: "I know people are struggling to access the dental work they are entitled to on the NHS"

Lyn Healing, a Conservative councillor for South East Holderness, said: "I recently phoned round every local practice and I was shocked to be told that local residents may have to wait two years to see a dentist."

Councillor Healing said places like Withernsea in her ward should be prioritised as "going private was not an option for most people".

'Waiting lists down'

The concerns come as a study from the Association of Dental Groups (ADG) found the East Riding of Yorkshire was one of 20 emerging dental deserts.

The 20 places named in the study had an average of 32 dentists per 100,000 people, with the ADG calling for an urgent levelling up of access, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

Mr Stuart said he had spoken to Ms Wilson, head of dental commissioning for the NHS in Yorkshire, about waiting times in the East Riding of Yorkshire during their meeting.

"With the impacts of coronavirus still being felt in the industry there are challenges, but I am going to continue working with my colleagues in the NHS to get the waiting lists down and open up more capacity for my constituents," he said.

A NHS spokesperson said reforms including paying practices more for complex procedures like multiple fillings and letting high-performing ones increase their capacity to see more patients would help improve the situation for patients.

"Discussions around further changes that benefit patients and staff were ongoing," the spokesperson added.