Thousands of Islanders are now waiting to see a dentist, living in pain, embarrassment and going into debt to fund essential care, an Island health watchdog has warned.
There may be some hope on the horizon, however, that could lessen the dentistry crisis on the Island.
Following a review of services, NHS England is hoping to add another big dental practice on the Island by next spring. When it could start accepting new patients or whether it would be enough provision was unknown and it was stressed there was a recruitment and retention issue for dentists on the Island.
Speaking at the Isle of Wight Council’s health and scrutiny committee meeting on Monday, Alison Cross, NHS England’s senior dental commissioning manager for the South East, was hopeful the restart of acceptance of overseas registration exams by the General Dental Council would attract dentists from abroad. It would not be a quick fix to the Island’s problems, Ms Cross said.
She first spoke to the committee in September last year but said pressures have continued to increase, with Island dentists only fulfilling 85 per cent of their contracted hours.
Part of the reason for the shortfall in hours, Ms Cross said, was due to the fact Covid infection, prevention and control measures for dental surgeries had not lifted, despite the national easing elsewhere.
From the summer, the way dental services are commissioned is changing, with the creation of the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Integrated Care System.
Alison Smith, managing director of the NHS Hampshire, Southampton and Isle of Wight Clinical Commissioning Group, said there was a real opportunity as the services would be commissioned locally and not nationally. The localised approach, Ms Smith said, will help the care partnerships come up with innovative ideas.
Joanna Smith, Healthwatch Isle of Wight manager, said the lack of dentists on the Island was having a knock-on effect on the entire healthcare system — in primary, secondary and mental health care.
Healthwatch was prioritising speaking to dental providers to find answers to the problems the Island faces.
another factor the dullards in the council ignore when letting every sob story and sad case move to the island at taxpayers expense. The planning departments are just as devoid of sense when approving new house builds, which adds to the queue for the dentist.
Why does Fawlty Towers and “Don’t mention the war” come to mind….
Next spring, and in the meantime people have got toothache and in agony
It’s likely to be a lot worse than they think. There are probably lots of people (like me) who haven’t seen a dentist since Covid started when they should have had routine checks. Not had any contact from dentist – am I on a list, are they still getting paid for my continuing care (when there hasn’t been any).
Communication costs nothing, be nice to hear from my dentist, even though they may be too busy to see me.
I haven’t seen a dentist since moving here-a picture is starting to form here !
Of course they are “hoping to add” a large practice to the Island. They would say that wouldn’t they? Chances of it actually happening are a big fat ZERO. This has been a critical shortfall for over a decade – hasn’t happened yet, aint gonna happen anytime soon
There hasn’t been a shortfall of dentists, it is a result of overbuilding and over populating the island by the money grabbing council …this mess is of their making.
If some people are so concerned about their teeth, go private?. That’s what I did, jump the queue, get seen alot faster, problem solved. Not exactly rocket science.
Not everyone can afford to go private, hence suffering in silence.
Must be nice to be that well off. Have your own house when prices were dirt cheap too ?
Yep, another baby boomer.
Going private for a check up/ hygienist isn’t expensive. What has house prices got to do with oral hygiene?, strange remark lol.
Why pay rip off prices when you been paying all your life for are NHS some people have more money than they need hope you’re happy
So out of principal I’ll wait for my appointment if it comes, another strange remark. I’m very happy with the private treatment I received, can’t stop smiling. Thank you .
Retention of dentists is the problem more than anything; what professional person with a family wants their children educated on an island with failing schools and an ambient air of the 1950s where enterprise and initiative are dirty words to a fair proportion of the population. Who wants their kids growing up in such an atmosphere where poisonous outdated attitudes, are so prevalent, (in comments section anyway), where general jist of those with the loudest mouths (empty vessels blah blah), is to propagate the view that tolerance of people “not like us” should not even be considered.