Dental care is a pain to behold

■ While agreeing that there are too few dentists who carry out National Health work nowadays, and it is overly expensive, I cannot understand the high level of tooth decay amongst young children.

It must have a lot to do with parents allowing high quantities of sugary foods and drinks, plus not ensuring their children clean their teeth properly.

The parents should address these issues and not the state by putting teachers in charge of teeth brushing and taxing sweet food and drinks which hits responsible people. While we need more dentists doing NHS work, we also need responsible parents to look out for their children’s health.

Ian Bentley, Pudsey, W Yorks.

■ At last we are seeing some government action on the disgraceful state of our dental care. The people of Britain have slowly seen their dentists refuse NHS patients, and only when they pay privately does a miraculous appointment become available. Dentists’ contracts need reviewing but that doesn’t excuse leaving children in pain. Their mercenary attitude has been disgraceful, and many should be struck off and their licences revoked.

That doesn’t solve the crisis we are in now, something has to be done and urgently. No more excuses. We need our NHS dentists back and all parties have a responsibility,

ST Vaughan, Birmingham

■ Some of the problems regarding dentist appoint

ments could easily be rectified if dental technicians were allowed to do more. They make dentures but first patients have to visit a dentist to get an impression done.

Dental technicians say this is one of their easiest jobs but dentists won’t allow it.

Also, if someone has a gap where a tooth has been, a dental technician could easily do an impression and make the tooth very quickly and efficiently.

I am speaking from experience after losing a tooth, taking ages to find a dentist and then having to pay privately for three separate appointments.

Margaret Garfoot, Norfolk

■ What is happening to this once great country when we have 119 children a day in hospital for dental treatment because there is a lack of NHS dentists.

As polls show, the NHS is in an even worse state than we feared as nearly half the adult population has a relative who has waited more than six months for NHS treatment.

This is scandalous. We pay our way with contributions when we

are working, yet it seems the Tories don’t care.

Dave Mellor, Warrington

■ After years of failing the nation’s health comes proof the Tories have left thousands in need of a dentist, with many people pulling out their own teeth. Clearly this timebomb lays at the door of a Prime Minister who is so wealthy his own teeth shine while not giving a damn about the state of dentistry.

Reg Barrett, Essex

■ No one in modern Britain should find themselves unable to secure an NHS dentist. There needs to be a rigorous restructuring of the dental care system with proper funding from the Government to attract more people into the profession. The health of the nation should be a top priority for whoever controls the levers of power. Mike Smith, Kent ■ All politicians should be forced to use NHS services, then Prime Minister Sunak and his Tory pals would soon want to fix the problem of dentist waiting times in this country.

Jane Sugden, Coventry

■ I wonder if the West should be worried that President Joe Biden, the commander-inchief of the world’s most powerful armed forces, may be forgetting things.

Could it be “Where have I put those launch codes?” Or “I forgot where I sent a fleet.”

America needs to look at this very carefully.

As we get older we all begin to forget things.

But most of them are trivial compared to being the president of the world’s biggest superpower.

Paul Booker

Clay Cross, Derbyshire