Bridlington: Town of 35,000 down to just one NHS dentist

MyDentist in Bridlington said it it remained "committed to providing NHS dentistry"

A town of 35,000 people will have only one full-time NHS dentist, forcing patients to go private or travel for dental care.

Two NHS dentists in Bridlington closed in 2022.

Now the last practice offering NHS care has said only one of its dentists would offer treatment.

MyDentist said: "Unfortunately, from 1 June, the number of NHS dentists we have at the practice will reduce and that will limit our capacity."

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The practice added it remained "committed to providing NHS dentistry" and it was "doing everything possible to increase our NHS capacity in the future".

One patient affected by the reduction in NHS services is mother-of-three Kayleigh.

Her children have been taken on by an NHS dentist 18 miles (29km) away in Scarborough.

However, she and her husband can only find private care.

"It's not affordable for us as a family," she said. "We're not position fork out thousands.

"He [husband] says he's got several fillings that need doing and a few teeth need removing. He says he's going to have to start pulling out teeth himself."

Kayleigh, with her son Kaden, said private dental care was "not affordable for us as a family"

Chris Groombridge, from the Hull and East Yorkshire Local Dental Committee, which represents dentists, said "a large proportion of dentists have given up".

"They're voting with their feet because they've been waiting 16 years for reform from the government," he said.

"And the government makes lots of promises, including its latest dental recovery plan, which isn't worthy of the name."

A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said the government was supporting dentists and making NHS work more attractive, including "providing cash incentives for practices that treat new patients".

The spokesperson added: "Our dental recovery plan will create up to around 2.5m more appointments this year alone. As a result, more dental practices are already accepting new adult and child patients across England.

"To boost the dental workforce, the NHS Long Term Workforce Plan will expand dentistry training places by 40% by 2031."

They added the government was increasing recruitment of dental therapists and hygienists and "giving them more powers to treat patients and reduce pressure on dentists".