The proportion of people seen by NHS dentists in Ashfield remains below pre-pandemic levels

It comes as the British Dental Association calls for “radical and urgent change” to help NHS dentistry recover from the impact of Covid-19.

Figures from the NHS show 36,895 adults were seen by an NHS dentist in Ashfield in the two years leading to June 30 this year, 38 per cent of the area's adult population.

It is up from 34 per cent in 2020-22 but below the rate before Covid-19 when 53 per cent were seen in 2017-19.

Nationally, 18.1 million adults were seen by an NHS dentist in the 24 months to June 30 this year. It is up from 16.4m in 2020-22, but still below the 22m seen in 2017-19.

Eddie Crouch, BDA chairman, said: “Demoralised dentists are walking away from a broken system, while millions struggle to access the care they need. NHS dentistry can come back from the brink, but only if ministers turn the page.”

An NHS spokesman said the figures show significant recovery in dental treatment for children since the pandemic with 6.4m seen in the year to June 2023.

In Ashfield, 10,349 children were seen in the past year – covering 41 per cent of under-18s in the area. The rate is up from 36 per cent in 2021-22 but below 51 per cent in 2018-19.

Louise Ansari, Healthwatch England chief executive, said the new data backs up its claims “people in every corner of England are struggling to get the dental treatment they need when they need it”.

The figures also show the number of NHS dentists practising in England also fell year-on-year to 24,151 in 2022-23 from 24,272 in the previous year.

A Department of Health and Social Care spokesman said: “We are making progress to boost NHS dental services with 23 per cent more courses of treatment, meaning 1.7 million more adults and 800,000 more children received NHS dental care.

“We fund more than £3 billion of NHS dentistry a year, have announced plans to increase dental training places by 40 per cent and last week we launched a consultation to better utilise the skills of dental hygienists and therapists.”