Dentist check-ups to become yearly in the UK

To provide space for more NHS patients and address the lack of access to dental care for lots of people, biannual check-ups are being scrapped across Wales and England for many adults.

The government in Cardiff have said that this drastic change will free up NHS dentists’ time and allow them to take on over one hundred thousand more patients annually.

Prof Dickenson, who is in the post, thinks that the developments in oral health means that routine biannual check-up appointments are old-fashioned.

He has stated that fewer people are wearing dentures and more adults are keeping their teeth; over the past two decades, there has been a steady decrease in tooth decay.

In England and Wales, where NHS dentists have been working under a contract introduced in 2006, limited access to dental care has become a controversial issue. There are increasing fears that the shortage of dentists is worsening; some patients have resorted to DIY treatment after reporting their inability to access an NHS dentist.

Dentists will create personal care plans with patients and advise them on how often they need to come in, allowing patients who need routine care can be regularly seen. Anyone below the age of 18 will remain attending biannual check-ups.

Dickenson stated, “When we started the NHS over seventy years ago, dental disease was prevalent across Wales, and most people lost their teeth by the time they went into old age.”