NHS offers dentist search service

Patients struggling to locate an NHS dentist will now benefit from a new service offered through the NHS Choices website.

By clicking on ‘dentists’, they will be able to search for the nearest surgery accepting new NHS patients simply by entering their postcode.

Additional information on opening times, services offered and the clinic’s healthcare commission rating will also be available to them.

David Landes, the north-east Strategic Health Association’s dental adviser, told the Morpeth Herald there is no complacency about providing adequate dental care.

“This new online resource is another way of making it easier for everyone to find out where their nearest available NHS dentist is and how to go about registering as a patient,” he stated.

Earlier this month, Citizens Advice published a survey which revealed millions of people have been unable to visit an NHS dentist since April 2006 due to a lack of dentists accepting new patients.

It warned that nearly three million people have been forced to do without dental care altogether owing to the shortage.