Children's dental health in the Cardiff area is being severely compromised as thousands are not able to see an NHS dentist, it has been claimed.
According to a Freedom of Information request by the Welsh Liberal Democrats, 7,443 children in Cardiff and Vale of Glamorgan are waiting for a dentist with the NHS. With the exception of Cardiff and Powys, no other health boards in Wales have collected data on the number of children waiting to be assigned an NHS dentist.
According to the Lib Dems, the figures show that Wales is operating on a "two-tier system of dentistry", where those "well off" can afford to go private and those who cannot are left "suffering in pain". The Welsh Government disputes this.
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In response, Cardiff and Vale University Health Board has said that access to NHS dental services across Wales has been "under significant pressure post-pandemic", which is also reflected of the position within the health board. But noted that while the number of under 18 year olds who were awaiting an NHS dentist was high, the figures reported were "not representative" of those awaiting allocation.
The party is now calling on the Welsh Government to allow dental hygienists and nurses to carry out more duties in order to help clear backlogs as matching funding on dentistry, in order to equal per capita spending in Scotland and Northern Ireland. As it stands, dentistry spend per capita in Wales is £47 per head. This compares to £55 in Scotland and £56 in Northern Ireland.
The party has also called on the other health boards in Wales to start recording the number of children waiting. In a statement, the leader of the Welsh Liberal Democrats, Jane Dodds MS, said: "It is a disgrace that children in Cardiff and the Vale are left languishing on waiting lists potentially with rotting teeth or in pain because they cannot get an NHS dentist.
"The Welsh Labour Government have presided over a two-tier system where those who are financially able to go private while those who cannot afford to do so are left on enormous waiting lists, including children.
"This situation needs to be addressed with the highest urgency, Labour cannot continue to take the children of our city for granted or they risk setting up future generations for poor oral health and embedding health inequalities even further.
"We need to see dentists for all, no matter your economic background. The Welsh Liberal Democrats are calling on the Welsh Labour Government to widen the work allowed to be carried out by dental hygienists and nurses, a move that would have a significant impact on bringing waiting lists down.
"We also want to see per capita funding for dentistry in Wales raised to the same level as in Scotland and Northern Ireland to tackle the problem in the long term. We must not allow a whole generation of young people to be failed in access to dentistry."
In response, a Welsh Government spokesperson said that from this year, they would be providing an additional £2million each year to improve access to dental service for the whole of Wales.
They added: "Changes to the NHS dentistry contract, offered to dental practices since April, also includes a requirement to see new patients. This means an estimated 112,000 new NHS patient appointments will be possible in Wales this year. In Cardiff and Vale 20,014 new NHS appointments have been made this year, of which 8,811 are for children."
A spokesperson for Cardiff and Vale University Health Board said: "Access to NHS dental services across Wales has been under significant pressure post-pandemic, and this is also reflective of the position within Cardiff and the Vale of Glamorgan. Despite the capacity of the service and increased demand, every effort has been made to improve access to NHS dental services for patients.
“Across Cardiff and Vale, the Health Board introduced a centralised waiting list to measure the demand for NHS dental services in the region and support patients to find an NHS dentist near their home address.
“While the number of under 18-year-olds awaiting an NHS dentist is high, the figures reported in the press release are not representative of those awaiting allocation. The total number of under 18-year-olds when the request was submitted was 7,443 and of this figure, 4,732 were awaiting allocation to an NHS dentist.
“Furthermore, under the Dental Contract Reform from April to November, a total of 8,811 under 18-year-olds have been treated as a new patient within NHS dental services across Cardiff and the Vale.
“The Centralised Waiting List is currently undergoing validation, which will enable the Health Board to have a more accurate understanding of those patients who are awaiting an NHS dentist.
“Any patient across Cardiff and the Vale, who does not have an NHS dentist and is experiencing dental pain or trauma, can contact the emergency dental helpline on 0300 10 20 247. A CAV 24/7 clinician will conduct an assessment, provide over the phone advice and guidance on pain relief, and if required an appointment will be booked at the emergency dental clinic.”
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