Decaying state of NHS dentistry hurts patients

sir – While one may pity the difficulties faced by many NHS dentists (Letters, January 2), spare a thought for us patients, for whom the situation is even worse.

Unless one is part of a designated group (under 18, pregnant or on some sort of benefit), dentistry can be very expensive. One can pay £22.70 just to walk through the door and have a check-up – then £62.10 for fillings or extractions, and £269.30 for dentures, crowns and bridges.

Few NHS dental hospitals – even those in London – are open 24 hours a day. There is no free emergency dental cover available at weekends, and it is a considerable challenge to find a dentist willing to accept NHS patients.

Is it any wonder that the nation’s teeth are rotting away? Joan Manning

Watford, Hertfordshire

sir – The neglect of children’s teeth is indeed shocking, with decay the most common cause of emergency NHS hospital admissions.

The root cause is historical by virtue of the fact that the teeth and the eyes are catered for in general practice by the private sector.

In Wiltshire in the early Nineties, the dental profession launched a major initiative to pioneer the introduction of an NHS children’s dental passport, only to be sidelined by the then secretary of state for health. It is time for this initiative to be resurrected and accompanied by a properly funded preventive NHS programme that maintains dental fitness from birth. Dr Nigel Knott

Seend, Wiltshire

sir – The letter signed by Tony Kilcoyne and others could have been written in 1976, when I graduated.

Dental health would improve if the health service focused its provision on children up to the age of 18. Thereafter patients should be responsible for themselves, thus freeing up resources for the NHS to concentrate on providing a first-class service aimed at eradicating dental disease by preventing it in the young.

This model works well in other countries such as Norway. Dr Eilert Eilertsen

North Kessock, Inverness-shire