6.5 million children not seen by an NHS dentist last year

• Number of children not seen by an NHS dentist up by a third since 2019

• Some children waiting over two years for dental surgery on the NHS

• Lib Dems call for boost to funding for NHS dentist appointments and cut to VAT on children’s toothpaste

Over 6.5 million children in England have not been seen by an NHS dentist for at least a year, shocking new figures published by the Liberal Democrats have revealed.

The research commissioned from the House of Commons Library estimates the number of children who weren’t seen by an NHS dentist in the year to June 2022.

This includes 200,000 children in Kent, 176,000 in Essex, 148,000 in Hampshire and 141,000 in Surrey. The analysis also shows the children not being seen by an NHS dentist for a year has increased by over a third since 2019.

The NHS recommends that under-18s see a dentist at least once a year because their teeth can decay faster, compared to two years for adults.

Shockingly, tooth decay is still the most common reason for hospital admission for young children. Last year, a staggering 30,000 children and young people aged between 0-19 were admitted to hospital because of tooth decay. Dental surgery is far more expensive than simple regular check ups.

Separate figures obtained by the Liberal Democrats from NHS trusts through Freedom of Information requests show that some children are waiting over two and a half years for dental surgery under general anaesthetic.

One child was waiting 945 days, or over two and a half years, for dental treatment at Sheffield Children’s Hospital. The other longest waits were at Frimley Health (two years and 62 days), Warrington and Halton Teaching Hospitals (two years three days), University Hospitals Dorset (720 days) and Barts Health NHS trust (700 days).

The Liberal Democrats are calling for an emergency rescue plan for NHS dentistry including spending the estimated £400 million of funding that went unspent in the last financial year to boost the number of appointments. The party is also calling for additional resources for mobile dental clinics to visit schools and the removal of VAT on children’s toothbrushes and toothpaste.

Liberal Democrat Leader Ed Davey said:

“It is disgraceful that millions of children are going without the dental care they need, while others are waiting years in pain for treatment. 

“These figures must act as a wake-up call. We need a rescue plan now to ensure families across the country can get an NHS dentist appointment when they need one.”

Liberal Democrat MP Wera Hobhouse, who commissioned the research, commented: 

“We know that regular dentist appointments are crucial to prevent tooth decay among children.  

“But for far too many parents, getting an NHS dentist appointment for your child has become almost impossible. It just shows this Conservative government has run our local health services into the ground."

ENDS

Notes to editors

1. Full Commons Library data available here. Population estimates have been used to derive the estimated number of people not seen by a NHS dentist in each local authority.

2. FOI Data on longest waits available here. The FOI sent was as follows:  Could you please provide the following information relating to general anaesthesia (GA) paediatric dental waiting times for children under 18 in hospitals managed by your Trust: The five longest waits faced by children currently on the waiting list in days.

3. Almost 30,000 children and young people aged between 0-19 were admitted to hospital because of tooth decay in 2021-22 (Royal College of Surgeons of England: 2022).

4. NHS dental recommendations

5. The Liberal Democrats are calling for an NHS dental healthcare plan to ensure everyone can access affordable dental care when they need to. This would include:

• • Immediately investing the money earmarked for NHS dentistry on boosting the number of appointments. The Health Service Journal has reported that the national dentistry budget is set to be underspent by a record £400m this year.

  • Reforming and increasing funding for the NHS dental services contract, to ensure it encourages and incentivises dentists to take on NHS patients

  • Increasing the number of dentist training places in the UK

  • Additional resources for mobile dental units to visit schools, community centres and care homes

  • The removal of VAT on children’s toothbrushes and children’s toothpaste.