NHS patients face four year wait for dentist in some parts of UK, new shock figures reveal

Dental patients are facing four-year waits to see an NHS dentist in some of Britain’s worst “dental deserts”, new figures have revealed.

The stats, obtained by The Sunday Telegraph, show how people in Devon and Cornwall are on average waiting 1,441 days to even get registered with a dentist.

The figures from a local helpline are also detailed in Freedom of Information disclosures that show waits of three years and eight months for children in the same area.

Neil Carmichael, the chairman of the Association of Dental Groups, said: “These shocking figures unfortunately replicate what we are seeing across the country. UK dentistry is in a state of crisis.”

Last week, figures from the Office for National Statistics Experiences found 97 per cent of people who do not have a dentist and who tried to access dental care were unsuccessful.

Of those who tried to access NHS dentistry, but did not have a dentist, 33.5 per cent reported having an urgent need for NHS care, with 21.3 per cent stating they were in pain.

Meanwhile, there were reports of more than 100 people queueing as early as 2.30am just to get a place at an NHS dentist in Warrington.

Patients brought camping chairs as they waited for hours outside MyDentist in Westbrook, echoing chaotic scenes seen in Bristol in February, when police were forced to intervene.