Covid: Dental patients 'might never' get 6-month check-ups again

Dentists may never catch up with the backlog of patients waiting for check-ups, a leading dentist has warned.

Dr Russell Gidney said around 6,000 of his patients had not been given a routine check-up in the past year because of Covid restrictions.

NHS Wales figures show courses of dental treatment dropped by over three quarters in 2020-21.

The Welsh government said dental services would get an extra £3m this year to support pandemic recovery.

Dr Gidney said fatigue among colleagues and recruitment problems threatened the return of regular appointments.

At his practice in Chepstow, Monmouthshire, he said check-ups have not been going ahead because patients who need urgent treatment were prioritised.

"We are fighting fires," he said.

"There's a strong move away from that nest of patients who come in every six months and just have a check-up, to try and see those less and less often, and focusing more on providing care for people who haven't been able to access [a dentist].

"I don't know that we'll ever catch-up in that same manner".

Jodi Hayes, who has had issues with her teeth since she was young, said the absence of routine check-ups prompted her to look for a private dentist in England.

"I don't have a dental phobia... but if I don't have my regular check-ups, it builds up anxiety," she said.

Ms Hayes, from Merthyr Tydfil, added that knowing her children or husband could not get a check up added to her dental anxiety, despite being diligent about teeth brushing.

As soon as England opened up dental services in July 2020, she booked an appointment with a Bristol private dentist because she "didn't want to wait" for the phased return in Wales.

She said having her teeth checked brought "immediate relief" to her anxiety. Her daughter needed a filling and her husband also had a problem dealt with.

Ms Hayes said her family was joining a private practice in Caerphilly, rather than returning to their NHS dentist.

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

But latest figures show 544,755 courses of treatment were recorded in 2020-21 - a drop of 76.7%.

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

Dr Gidney, the British Dental Association chairman of the Welsh General Dental Practice Committee, said his practice saw about 100 patients a day before the pandemic, but currently had about 30.

"Even if we went back to where we were normally it will take a long time to catch-up - and the reality is normal is not on the horizon yet."

The British Dental Association said patient numbers have improved this year and practices were operating at between 40 to 60% of their pre-pandemic levels.

Dentists are limited in number of patients they treat because of increased safety measures - such as wearing more PPE and cleaning between patients.

New operating procedures were announced last week, relaxing the safety measures for patients who show no signs of respiratory illness, such as colds and flu.

But Dr Gidney said although new guidelines may increase patient volumes, they will "barely make a dent" into the "unprecedented backlogs".

Wales' Health Minister Eluned Morgan said there have been "long-standing issues" with access to dentistry, due to practices experiencing difficulties with recruitment and retention of dentists.

She said these issues were "impacting on the provision of NHS dental services".

The Welsh government said £2m of targeted recurrent funding for general and community NHS dental services would also be available next year.