Birmingham health crisis exposed as 1,300 patients diagnosed in hospital because they can't see a dentist

The number of patients turning up at A&E with tooth issues is increasing year-on-year, according to figures

Birmingham's dental treatment crisis has been laid bare in new figures showing year-on-year rises in the number of patients diagnosed with tooth decay in city hospitals. The increase was seen in both adults and children and was revealed after some parts of the country were branded "dental deserts" with no dentists taking on NHS patients.

Statistics from Sandwell and West Birmingham Hospitals and University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Trust showed 1,327 patients were diagnosed with tooth decay by medics since 2021 after they were unable to get in to see a dentist. The number rose to 484 in 2023/24, up from 432 in 2022/23 and 411 in 2021/22.

A total of 45 patients under 18 suffered with tooth decay in 2023/24 compared with 40 and 37 in the two previous years. The figures were obtained were by legal firm Public Interest Lawyers.

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Up to 30,000 children and more than 70,000 adults in England were admitted to A&E with tooth decay between April 2022 and May 2023. According to the BBC and the British Dental Association, 90 per cent of dentists across the UK are not taking on new NHS adult patients, and many refuse to see a child unless a parent is signed up as a private patient.

Tooth decay is the biggest primary cause of NHS hospital admissions for children in England aged between five and 17, as 40 per cent of children no longer have access to regular dental appointments. Public Interest Lawyers also obtained figures on how many patients diagnosed with tooth decay or dental issues were aged between five and 17.

There were 37 patients aged five to 17 in 2021/22, before the figure rose to 40 the following year. The number of under-18 patients then increased to 45 in 2023/24.

Birmingham MP Jess Phillips addressed the wider dentistry crisis earlier this year, saying she had to ring 19 dentists to find one who could offer her teenage son an appointment. "People say 'I bet you can get a good service' (as an MP) and I'm like, clearly not! Nineteen dentists to get an appointment..."

It has been reported that the UK now had fewer dentists per head than nearly every other country in Europe, including Latvia, Estonia, Bulgaria and Belgium. A total of 26 million adults, 60 per cent of the population, were said to have not had a check-up in more than two years.

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