A million miss out on dental treatment
More than a million fewer people in England are being treated by NHS dentists since the overhaul of dental services two years ago.
Patients are also more likely to have teeth removed or dentures fitted rather than be given expensive treatments such as fillings and crowns, figures have revealed.
Since the new contracts were introduced in April 2006, 27 million people have been seen by an NHS dentist – 1.1million down on the previous two years.
In the same period, treatments that included dentures increased from 38 per cent to 48 per cent and extractions went up to eight per cent from seven per cent. However the number of crowns fell from 48 to 35 per cent and fillings similarly dropped from 28 to 26 per cent.*
In Wales the number of crowns fell by nine per cent to 35 per cent, while extractions increased from eight per cent to just over nine.
All this adds up to difficult times for patients and their families, but it is re-assuring that Westfield Health’s cash plans include a dental benefit, enabling policyholders to claim back the costs of dental check-ups and treatment up to set limits.
Reference:
© Westfield Health Insurance | 2008
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