Somerset parents struggle to find NHS dentists for children

Serena Wootton said her 18-year-old son has not seen a dentist since he was 14

Families in Somerset say they are struggling to find NHS dentists to see their children.

Long term dental problems are being "stored up" up in the county if children do not get their teeth checked regularly, the Local Government Association warned.

Research by the BBC found that only three out of 48 local practices in Somerset were accepting new patients.

Dentists said the problem has been coming for some time.

"Since the pandemic, because of the increased workload, it became very difficult to take on new patients," said Bridgwater dentist Dr Andre Louw, chair of the Somerset Local Dental Committee.

"This part of the world is very difficult to retain and attract new dentists to the area," added Mr Louw.

David Fothergill, a Conservative councillor in Somerset and the chair of the Local Government Association's Community Wellbeing Board, said he was worried.

"My concern for dental provision within the county is that we really aren't spotting the issues which are developing in quite young children, that they are not presenting themselves to dentists, and they're not following the right preventative work that they need to have.

"So my great fear in Somerset is that by not having access to dentists and not having access to that preventative work, we are really storing up problems in the next five to 10 years for a lot of people."

Serena Wootton said other parents are also struggling to find a dentist

The BBC posted on local social media pages in the Wells and Chard areas of the county and received hundreds of comments and messages from concerned parents.

Many said their practice has become private after previously having NHS dentists and they can't find a new NHS dentist anywhere in Somerset.

Serena Wootton, who lives near Chard and is involved with local politics with the Green Party, said her children are finding it almost impossible to see a dentist and her son has not seen one in almost four years.

"My son now is going to be 18 in September and he's not now had a dentist check his teeth since he was 14," said Ms Wootton.

"Everybody's just saying the same thing, 'yeah, no nor have we, our kids haven't seen them for a couple of years," she added.

Anthony Thresher lives with his family in Chard and has been struggling to book an NHS Dentist.

She said: "I've tried all the local areas up to radius of over 25 miles (40km) to get an NHS dentist just for the children.

"We've been told to go as far as Minehead, looking for an NHS Dentist, Newton Abbott, which is 30, 40, 50 miles away."

Dr Bernie Merden, of NHS Somerset, said the issue might take "some time" to sort

NHS Somerset recently took over the commissioning of dental service in the county from NHS England.

"It's going to take some time," said chief medical officer Dr Bernie Marden.

"We're looking carefully at what quick fixes might look like and we'll be sure to deploy whatever changes we can as soon as possible."

A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: "The number of children seen by NHS dentists increased by 43.6% last year.

"The Office for Health Improvement and Disparities works to improve children's oral health, and we have taken action to expand water fluoridation schemes - which can reduce the number of children experiencing tooth decay amongst 5-year-olds by up to 28% in the most deprived areas."

"There were over 500 more dentists delivering NHS care in 2022 than in 2021, but we know there is more to do and we will be announcing further measures to improve access across the country soon."