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Latest figures show a staggering 88 per cent of people without a dentist who tried to secure NHS dental care in the last month were unsuccessful(Image: Getty Images)<\/p>\nMore than a third of Greater Manchester’s NHS dentists are not accepting children, while almost half are not taking new adult patients<\/p>\n
16:59, 23 Apr 2025Updated 17:04, 23 Apr 2025<\/p>\n
Latest figures show a staggering 88 per cent of people without a dentist who tried to secure NHS dental care in the last month were unsuccessful(Image: Getty Images)<\/p>\n
Patients living in Greater Manchester’s ‘dentistry deserts’ are still being denied NHS<\/a> treatment six months after a Labour promise to \u2018rebuild\u2019 the way treatment is delivered.<\/p>\n Latest analysis of the 347 practices in Greater Manchester on the NHS\u2019s \u2018find a dentist\u2019 website has revealed 149 \u2013 43 per cent of the region\u2019s practices \u2013 are still not currently accepting adults aged 18 or over.<\/p>\n This figure varies by area, with 62 per cent of NHS dentists in Trafford<\/a> not accepting adult patients, compared to just 29 per cent in Wigan<\/a>.<\/p>\n The situation remains exactly the same as in November, when we last crunched the numbers.<\/p>\n And it is not just adults who are affected \u2013 36 per cent of NHS dentists in Greater Manchester are still not accepting children aged 17 or under, ranging from 60 per cent of dentists in Rochdale<\/a>, to 21 per cent of those in Manchester.<\/p>\n In reality, many of those that say they are accepting patients \u201cwhen availability allows\u201d may not be, or may have years-long waiting lists.<\/p>\n Those who cannot get NHS appointments are largely reliant on expensive private care, with rural and coastal areas some of the worst affected.<\/p>\n See which dentists are accepting NHS patients in your area using our interactive map:<\/p>\n The ongoing lack of NHS dentists is an issue nationally. Across England, nearly 4,800 of the more than 6,500 dentists on the site, or 73 per cent, are still not currently accepting adults aged 18 or over \u2013 the same as in November.<\/p>\n When contacted by the Mirror as part of a joint investigation with the British Dental Association, 84 out of 100 practices that were listed as accepting new adult patients \u201cwhen availability allows\u201d in November were actually not accepting new NHS patients. One stated its waiting list was \u201cat least ten years\u201d.<\/p>\n In total, 53 constituencies with a combined adult population of 4.8 million people still don\u2019t have a single available NHS dentist.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, 62 per cent of NHS dentists on the site are not accepting children aged 17 or under, a figure which again hasn\u2019t improved since November.<\/p>\n Overall, 43 constituencies don\u2019t have a single practice accepting new child patients.<\/p>\n A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: \u201cThis government inherited a broken NHS dental sector after years of neglect, but we are getting on with fixing it through our Plan for Change.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve already begun the rollout of 700,000 extra urgent dental appointments, and a \u2018golden hello\u2019 scheme is underway to recruit dentists to areas with most need \u2013 with hundreds of posts advertised.<\/p>\n \u201cWe will reform the dental contract to make NHS work more appealing to dentists, and we\u2019ve announced a national supervised toothbrushing programme to prevent tooth decay in young children.\u201d<\/p>\n Join the Manchester Evening News WhatsApp group <\/strong>HERE<\/a><\/p>\n An NHS Greater Manchester spokesperson said: “Supporting people to access NHS dental services remains a key priority for NHS Greater Manchester. Despite ongoing challenges across the country and in Greater Manchester, we\u2019ve managed to maintain local provision and ensure continued access for patients.<\/p>\n “Figures for 2024 show that 64 per cent of children living in Greater Manchester have had access to an NHS dentist, which is higher than the national average of 57 per cent. For adults, 43 per cent have had a dental appointment in the last two years.”<\/p>\n NHS Greater Manchester says the timeframes are different because national guidance, from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), recommends that children have a check-up every 12 months, while adults are seen based on their individual oral health needs, which can mean up to 24 months between visits.<\/p>\n The latest figures from the Office for National Statistics show that a staggering 88 per cent of people without a dentist who tried to secure NHS dental care in the last month were unsuccessful.<\/p>\n Of those, 20 per cent resorted to private dentistry, while a concerning 70 per cent did nothing \u2013 with the BDA warning of increased burdens on the health service if early signs of disease go unchecked.<\/p>\n Among those who attempted to access NHS dentistry but didn’t have a dentist, 27 per cent reported having an urgent need for dental care, with 22 per cent stating they were in pain.<\/p>\n