Matt is such a man of action...
The challenges many people face in finding an NHS dentist have been widely reported for some time now. The issue is sadly nothing new locally, with Portsmouth South MP Stephen Morgan last year describing the city as a ‘dental desert’.
But the problem certainly isn’t confined to here.
The BBC this week revealed its research had shown nine in 10 NHS dental practices across the UK were not accepting new adult patients for treatment under the health service and in a third of the UK’s more than 200 council areas, no dentists were taking on adult NHS patients.
The BBC also highlighted the case of one woman who, over several months, pulled out 13 of her own teeth after finding himself in an area where no dentists offer NHS care and unable to afford the thousands of pounds of private treatment needed to fix her teeth.
Today we report on MPs being told that some patients are having to travel hundreds of miles for NHS dental care.
And if you can’t find an NHS dentist, the cost of private treatment can be too expensive for many.
Oral healthcare portal Dentaly.org found that a UK dental check-up costs £63 on average in a report it published in October 2021. No doubt it’s higher still now.
And that’s just a checkup. If you need treatment, you’ll be forking out a good deal more.
Dentaly.org found that the average price for a metalfree dental crown in the UK in 2021 was £589 and the average cost for a single dental implant was £2,339.
So, with many unable to find an NHS dentist and unable to afford a private one, the inevitable conclusion is that people will put off dental treatment – and in many cases dental problems will arise as a result.
The current situation simply cannot continue. A national dental crisis is unfolding and reform is essential.
I’ve spoken openly about Harley being a clingy child. She always has been and I’m not the type of parent to sugarcoat the truth. She was often very hard work when she was younger
(up until recently, to be honest) because she would get so upset whenever she left me that sending her to nursery, despite the fact she’s been going since she was one year old, was just torture for me and for her.
I couldn't bear leaving her, but I knew it was in her best interest and I’m glad I persevered, but I do however feel like I’ve now shot myself in the foot.
She’s become so independent and self-assured that she’s quite happy to be away all day from me - at least the last couple of weeks anyway - and, quite frankly, I’m having to do everything
My husband Matt doesn't do anything by halves - I’ve never known someone quite like him, to be honest. He can never just do a task, have a break, come back to it the next day etc - he MUST do it all there and then.
On Wednesday this week he decided that with the impending sunnier weather (please) that the garden could do with a spruce, post winter. I agreed.
However, he started at 9.30am on Tuesday morning and finished at 10pm that night. Admittedly he had to stop myself being too needy about it.
She went to my mother in law Jackie, as usual, on Tuesday and my mum had to pick her up for me at 2.30pm because I had an appointment to go too. I met them at the Hilsea Lido where we all hung out in the park and the Hilsea Lines Cafe (I have an unhealthy obsession to their flapjacks, I have to admit) and when it was time to go, she looked at me and said ‘I don’t want to go home, Mummy, I want to go to Nanny’s’, to which my mum said that was fine.
I hadn't seen her all day but she didn't want me to go with them either so I went home, went for a run which was amazing, and had a quiet dinner with Matt. Lovely.
Then the next day, instead of coming home after being at my a three-hour window in that time to go to work, but still - who takes that longtosortagardenout?
He did everything - mowed the lawn, strimmed, cut back the trees from next door, jet washed the patio and decking, cleaned Harley’s summer toys, which really should have been put away over the winter (my bad) -honestly,theboydidgoodandthe garden looks amazing. I have an even better view now from my garage office but, seriously, who takes the best part of nine hours to tidy a garden? My husband, apparently.