Thousands Remain on Waiting List for NHS Dental Care in North Lincs

More Than 5,000 patients in North Lincolnshire remain on a waiting list for dental services.

But local health officials claim they are making headway in clearing the backlog.

Since March the North Lincolnshire Primary Care Trust has been allocating permanent places at dental practices at the rate of more than 300 a month.

Of the 5,003 people on the current waiting list, a total of 1,250 have also been offered some temporary relief.

A spokeswoman for the trust explained the relief consisted of a course of dental treatment, offering a check-up and any subsequent treatment required.

The spokeswoman added: “It is anticipated the majority of patients on the list will either be offered a place at a practice or a course of treatment within the forthcoming months.”

Dental health in North Lincolnshire has been a contentious issue since the new contract system came into being in April 2006. Some dental practices became private with patients then having to sign up for dental plan care.

A shortage of dentists in the region also led to difficulties and in April 2007 two dentists left the area, leaving gaps in the local services.

In August last year there were 6,000 people on the waiting list, and two new dentists were recruited to fill the crucial posts.

The majority of dental surgeries in North Lincolnshire have currently closed their books to National Health Service patients.

Private patients can expect to pay on average pounds30 for an X- ray, pounds97 for a large tooth filling, pounds289 for teeth whitening and pounds175 for a wisdom tooth extraction.

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