The shocking state of dental services across Taunton and Wellington was revealed at a public meeting on Friday.
The event, entitled ‘Rebuilding our NHS’ was organised by local MP Gideon Amos and held in Taunton’s CIC Centre.
A panel of experts addressed the meeting which also saw Mr Amos reveal the findings of his recent dental survey across the constituency.
More than 2,000 people responded and the MP said the results were “staggering”.
The findings included:
· 71% of adults eligible for free NHS dental treatment are unable to access an NHS dentist.
· 64% of children are unable to access an NHS dentist.
· Parents’ spending averages £470 over the past five years.
Mr Amos said: “I first raised poor NHS dental provision in a survey in 2022, when I was a candidate. That showed that around half had no access to an NHS dentist.
“The fact that so many people, over 2,000, took my survey this time showed just how much worse things have become, particularly for families with young children.
“Even by Somerset’s dental desert standards, Taunton and Wellington are particularly badly affected.
“While 40% of the county’s children can access an NHS dentist, at 36% the figure is barely a third here in Taunton and Wellington.
“One constituent told me their 16-year-old had never seen a dentist. Given the cost of private dentists and the lack of NHS provision, that is shocking but not surprising.
“Parents are paying an average of nearly £100 per year on children’s central treatment which should be free.
“That means that, over five years, my constituents have paid out around £4,000,000 for treatment they should never have paid for.”
The meeting also heard from three speakers – Jonathan Mynors-Wallis of the British Dental Association; recently retired Taunton GP Dr Lucy Pendered; and Cllr Sarah Wakefield, Somerset Council's lead on Social Care.
They each spoke of the difficulties currently being experienced in the NHS and care services before answering a range of questions from the audience on a broad range of topics.
Mr Amos said afterwards: “It was an excellent evening and I’d really like to thank the thousands who took the survey, our speakers, and everyone who came along.
“One parent went away with a dental appointment for their child but frankly it shouldn’t take an opposition MP like me holding a public meeting to get one.
“The message is clear - we need more NHS dental provision in Taunton and Wellington urgently and this survey will help me press the case in Parliament to make that happen.”
