Two news stories were both shared in the last week which detailed patients having to travel hundreds of miles in order to access dental care.

Colin Lawson, of Ross-on-Wye, Herefordshire, crossed the border into Wales for a filling after becoming frustrated at the delay.

According to BBC News, Colin said that after moving to Ross-on-Wye two years ago, he was registered at a dentist in Symonds Yat, about an hour away from his home.

"I rung them.. and asked where we were on the list and they said they had hundreds on the list and it would take another 18 months before I go to the top of it," Colin told the broadcaster.

He went back to his old surgery in Cardiff instead, and when the dentist said they didn't have time available to administer painkillers, he had the treatment without them.

"I had to have a filling without any anaesthetic because it would have had to be another trip back to Wales - another 150-mile round trip again," he said.

The Herefordshire and Worcestershire region saw an eight per cent drop in NHS dentists in the past year, with 33 leaving the service. As a result, NHS England have said patients who most need care should be prioritised.

Meanwhile, Stewart Whitehill, 45, from Suffolk, is now travelling more than 350 miles to access treatment in Scotland.

After finding himself unregistered from his practice in Bury St Edmunds, Steward first began to pay for private care, spending more than £1,000 after needing extensive periodontal treatment.

However, he now drives to South Lanarkshire for NHS appointments, coinciding it with visits to his parents' home nearby. He was able to secure a place at the Scottish practice through his mother; she initially phoned her own practice asking for advice on behalf of her son, and a place was found for him there.

"It's a bit of a commute for a check-up," he told the BBC.

"Whilst it's great to have a dentist again, unfortunately with the pandemic, going up there regularly hasn't been possible, but at least I've managed to get someone," he added.

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