Millions of children not getting regular NHS dental care due to fear of dental treatment

According to the Dental Law Partnership, a dental negligence claim expert, free NHS dental care is not being capitalised on because of a general fear of going to the dentist and facing treatment. Whilst the picture varies across the country, Greater Manchester has the best record for children attending an NHS appointment at 64.3%, and London has the lowest attendance record at 49.9%. According to NHS data, 58.7% of children in England attended an NHS dentist appointment in the past year, which equates to 6.9 million children.
Chris Dean, managing director of the Dental Law Partnership, said: “The data highlights that a significant number of children across England are not seeing an NHS dentist regularly. The potential number of people, especially children, not getting regular check-ups, at the very least, is something we find very worrying. This is the way that dental issues are picked up before they become much worse. We understand many people worry when it comes to visiting their dentist. Parents can even pass their own anxiety on to their children. However, we want to encourage people of all ages to make oral health a priority.”