North Yorkshire: Free dental care offer to vulnerable patients

Charities warned that vulnerable people could face life-threatening oral problems without access to dental care

A charity has offered vulnerable people free dental care, after poor access to dentists had left patients with life-threatening problems.

According to homeless charity Lifeline, based in Harrogate, one resident "would have probably died" if he had not had 12 teeth swiftly removed.

Lifeline has teamed up with charity Dentaid, which offered free dental treatment at pop-up centres.

Last week, Dentaid took its mobile unit to Starbeck in Harrogate.

Formerly homeless people were able to have dental check-ups, extractions and fillings at the pop-up, which for some was the first time they had accessed this service in years.

Rob, who had been a drug addict, said his teeth had rotted through being on the methadone programme

Rob, who used to be a drug addict, said that being on the methadone programme for 14 to 15 years had rotted his teeth.

"I've always had problems with my teeth," he said.

"The last couple of years, I've actually looked after them but on Saturday one of my fillings fell out, so I needed to go in and get it fixed.

"I've been paranoid about eating over the weekend in case I did any more damage."

Rob added that he was "blessed" to have the opportunity to visit the mobile unit, as he had known people who had been waiting for "up to two years" for an appointment.

Another patient, who preferred not to be named, said this was the first time he had seen a dentist since he was 12 years old.

"It's nice to be looked after and cared for, and to feel appreciated," he said.

Dentist Geoff Baggaley said there was an access problem with dental care in the UK

The patients were treated by retired dentist Geoff Baggaley, who had practised in Yorkshire for 42 years but now volunteered at Dentaid.

Mr Baggaley believed access to dental care had worsened over the years, which had caused knock-on issues.

"Going back to when we first started all those years ago, there was never really an access problem. Now there is an access problem," he said.

"We know from the evidence that this is leading to more dental decay and I think more dental anxiety because it has become a real struggle to find a dentist.

"I know from reports that there has probably been an increase in oral cancer diagnosis and late oral cancer diagnosis because patients can't get the care that they need."

'2.5m extra appointments'

Carl Good, CEO of Lifeline, said that a man using the charity nearly lost his life due to oral problems.

He said: "One of our first ever residents ended up having 12 teeth out and they said that had that not been treated immediately, then he would have probably died."

However, the Department of Health and Social Care said its dental recovery plan would create 2.5m extra appointments this year and nearly 500 more dental practices had already opened to new patients in England.

"Our plan includes offering dentists £20,000 'golden hellos' to work in under-served areas and rolling out mobile dental vans to our most isolated communities," a spokesperson said.

"The NHS has also seen and treated record numbers of cancer patients over the past two years, with survival rates improving across almost all types of cancer, including mouth cancer."