NHS dental payments rise

Although the number of patients attending NHS dentists fell during 2007, the amount they paid rose 15 per cent on the previous year, newly published figures have shown.

Official information reveals that NHS patients paid an average of ?16.91 each in dental charges, compared to ?14.58 during 2006.

Katherine Murphy, spokeswoman for the Patients Association, argued that being able to seek dental care is important to an individual’s health.

“For the government to deny access to so many people is immoral. The system is chaotic, that’s for sure,” she claimed.

Shadow health secretary Andrew Lansley argued that the government had ensured there is less access to NHS dentists and higher charges.

According to figures released by the Department of Health, 266,000 fewer patients attended NHS dentists during 2006-07 than previously.

However, a spokesman for the government department told the Daily Express that NHS dentistry is “heavily subsidised” and available at no cost to low-income individuals.