According to the Scottish Liberal Democrats, almost 40 per cent of those registered with a dentist in Scotland, haven’t seen one in the past two years. The party leader, Alex Cole-Hamilton, has called on the Scottish National Party (SNP) to end the crisis in NHS dentistry.

Scottish ministers have previously noted that 95 per cent of people are registered with a dentist. However, in response to a freedom of information request from the Scottish Liberal Democrats, Public Health Scotland has confirmed:

  • 177,318 children and 1.8m adults registered had not seen a dentist in the last two years. This totalled 39.5 per cent of all those registered.
  • More than 80,000 children registered had not seen a dentist in the last five years.
  • More than a quarter (28.8 per cent) of adults registered had not seen a dentist in the last five years.
  • 574,387 registered adults had not seen a dentist in the last decade.

Alex said, “These figures are proof positive that being registered with a dentist is no measure of accessibility.

“An astonishing number of children and adults haven’t had recent dental check-ups or appointments. On the SNP’s watch, more than a quarter of P1 pupils are suffering from tooth decay and people are resorting to drastic measures like DIY dentistry, purchasing tools off Amazon to do the job themselves.

“Scottish Liberal Democrats were instrumental in introducing free dental checks, but SNP ministers are unpicking all that good work.

He concluded, “Only the Scottish Liberal Democrats have set out plans to end dental deserts and bring back local NHS dentists. We need to see ministers rewriting their failed NHS Recovery plan, prioritising workforce planning and boosting the number of dentists taking on NHS patients.”

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