New data shows 50,872 children in North Yorkshire not seen by an NHS dentist last year

50,872 children in North Yorkshire were not seen by an NHS dentist in the past year, House of Commons Library research, commissioned by the Liberal Democrats has revealed.

Local MP Tom Gordon has called for an end to ‘dental deserts’ saying that these figures were a ‘damning indictment’ of Conservative party’s legacy of running local health services into the ground. The research from the House of Commons Library estimates the number of children who weren’t seen by an NHS dentist in the year to March 2024, based on the latest data from the health service.

It also revealed the proportion of children not seen by an NHS dentist in North Yorkshire. For the previous year, a staggering 44.38% of children had not been seen by an NHS dentist. This is despite the NHS recommending that under-18s see a dentist at least once a year because their teeth can decay faster, compared to two years for adults. Tooth decay is also the leading cause of hospital admissions for children aged 6-10.

The Liberal Democrats are calling for an emergency rescue plan for NHS dentistry, including spending any funding that has gone unspent in recent years to boost the number of appointments as well as the removal of VAT on children’s toothbrushes and toothpaste.

Liberal Democrat MP for Harrogate & Knaresborough, Tom Gordon, said: 

“I have heard countless stories of desperate parents who cannot find an NHS dentist anywhere in both Harrogate and Knaresborough. Everyone knows how important it is for children to be able to see a dentist when they need to be in our area, far too often that is proving impossible.

“The Conservative party’s disastrous legacy on the NHS cannot be understated. The new government must make fixing local health services like dentistry here in North Yorkshire a top priority after the Conservatives ran them into the ground."

“The only way we will rescue dentistry in our area is by the government investing in local health services at the Budget and bringing an end to dental deserts so that every child in our area can see a dentist when they need to.”

ENDS

The research from the House of Commons Library can be found here. 

Tooth decay being the leading cause of hospital admissions for children aged 6-10 can be found here.