The South West is facing a dental crisis, with NHS care in the region significantly worse than the national average, new research has revealed. Bath MP Wera Hobhouse has criticised the situation, calling for urgent workforce planning to address a growing shortage of dentists.
A study conducted by the NHS in May 2024 and analysed by the House of Commons Library highlights a severe shortfall in NHS dental care across the South West. In areas where securing an appointment is more difficult and fewer dentists are available, people are more likely to seek emergency treatment at A&E.
According to the findings, the South West has the highest vacancy rate for fully qualified dentists in the country. The problem is exacerbated by a retention crisis, with two dental nurses leaving for every one that joins the workforce.
NHS data from March 2024 showed that fewer than one in three adults in the South West had seen a dentist in the previous two years. This figure was 12 percentage points lower than in the North East and North West. In Bath and North East Somerset, 36.3% of adults had seen a dentist in that period—higher than the regional average but still below the national figure of 40.3%.
The lack of access to routine dental care is driving more patients into hospital. In 2023/24, one in every 460 people in the South West attended A&E for a dental problem, compared to one in 860 in London.
Wera Hobhouse condemned the disparity in dental provision, calling for legislative action to address staffing shortages. She said: “It’s clear that dental care in Bath and the South West is failing across the board.
“Whether it’s due to a lack of appointments or mounting vacancies, dental provision is shockingly sparse in our area. This leaves patients struggling to see a dentist when they desperately need care, with some facing no choice but to go to A&E.
“People in our community shouldn’t have to just accept that the South West is significantly worse for dental provision than the rest of the country. We can – and must – fix this abysmal postcode lottery. The first step to achieving this would be ensuring proper workforce planning is written into law to make sure patients can get a dental appointment when they need one.”
