NHS dentists: Thousands of new NHS dentist appointments offered

Image source, Getty Images

Image caption, More than 14,000 new patients have been seen in the Swansea Bay health board area since April

Tens of thousands of new NHS dental appointments are being offered to patients in one part of Wales.

Swansea Bay health board said dental practices were "severely impacted" by Covid rules - now bosses are trying to catch up on oral care.

Dentists are expected to have seen an additional 28,000 new patients between April 2022 and April 2023.

It comes as people across Wales struggle to find an NHS dentist.

"Dental practices were closed at the start of the pandemic and then very restricted on the number of patients that could come through," said the health board's director or primary care, Sharon Miller.

"This new expectation puts a real focus on new patients being seen."

Since April, 14,325 dental appointment have already gone to 'new patients' who have not see a dentist in four years.

But the health board urged people "not in urgent need" to be patient.

"We are working hard to change the service so we can get those new patients through the door," Ms Miller explained.

Image source, Getty Images

Image caption, People are encouraged to contact a dental practice for an appointment and ask to go on a waiting list if no appointments are available.

The problems in the Swansea Bay University Health Board area are mirrored in most part of Wales.

Prior to the pandemic, just over 2.3 million courses of treatment were completed each year by NHS Wales dentists.

Just 544,755 courses of treatment were recorded in 2020-21 - a drop of 76.7%.

For children there were only 3,500 children's dental examinations recorded in 2020-21, a decrease of 99.4%.