Uptake disappointing for NHS dental appointments

Staff at a dental surgery in Lincolnshire said they were struggling to fill NHS appointments for children, despite a campaign to increase take-up.

Clinicians at the Dental Design Studio in Sleaford said the disappointing response was possibly down to parents' perceptions.

Practice manager Lisa Kellie, 25, said people had become used to there not being any NHS appointments.

"They've either gone elsewhere, or have gone private," she added.

"We know that the demand for all NHS dentistry is extremely high - especially in Lincolnshire", she said, adding that the Sleaford practice was now in "a really fortunate position" with eight different clinicians.

Despite this, she said they were "struggling with getting people through the door".

"People are just used to there not being any appointments since Covid," she added.

Ms Kellie said the campaign had been particularly aimed at encouraging more children to get a check-up.

She said a lot of children born in 2018 and 2019 had missed getting their fist check-ups because of the pandemic.

"Now we are open, we are finding children that are five or six years old who have never seen a dentist before," she said.

"It's very sad and I think parents have probably just got comfortable that it's something that is not available to them unless they go private."

She added although they had seen an increase in children coming for appointments, it was "nowhere near where we want to be, and what we can offer", she said.

Ms Kellie said she wanted to see a return back to "some kind of normality", where a visit to the dentist was part of growing up.

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