Bucks faces dentist shortage as 'a lot' of new residents cannot book NHS appointments

Councillor Anja Schaefer said: “Quite a lot of people are moving in, there is quite a lot of development. People who are moving in tell us they cannot make NHS dental appointments.”

The Liberal Democrat’s concerns come as new national data from the Office for National Statistics shows that 97 per cent of new patients who try to access dental care on the NHS are unsuccessful.

Councillor Schaefer, who represents the Buckingham East ward, made the comments during a meeting of the Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire West Joint Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee and asked health chiefs present when the situation would improve.

Her concerns were addressed by Louise Smith, the deputy director of primary care at the NHS Buckinghamshire Oxfordshire and Berkshire West Integrated Care Board.

The expert told the meeting the board was creating additional capacity outside of its national contract to address the shortage.

One example, Smith said, was a ‘flexible commissioning scheme’ to help people with specific needs, often in ‘deprived’ areas with poor access to dentists.

She added: “We have also been doing some work around urgent dental appointments and seeing what additional provision we can get for that. There is some work around increasing the dental workforce as well.”

Across Buckinghamshire Oxfordshire and Berkshire West, there are an average of 63 NHS dentists per 100,000 people, compared with a national average of 43 NHS dentists per 100,000.