Parents face long waits to register children for free dental treatment in Wales

Martin Shipton

We can reveal that parents hoping to sign up their young children for free dental treatment in Wales are likely to face a frustrating search and may be asked for a deposit of more than £100 to get an initial appointment.

Public Health Wales – the promotional arm of NHS Wales – boldly states on its website: “You should start taking your child to the dentist as soon as their first teeth come through and certainly by their first birthday.”

He continues: “To find a dentist visit: www.nhsdirect.wales.nhs.uk or call 111″.

However, another section of the website includes the statement: “NHS 111 Wales does not have information about whether a general dental practice is accepting new NHS patients. This should be discussed directly with the dentist.”

And a further statement reads: “Dental check-ups are no longer offered in nurseries and schools. We recommend that you take your child to the dentist regularly for check-ups.”

Cardiff

A young mother from Cardiff contacted us to tell us about the difficulties she had faced when trying to register her son with various dental practices in the city.

Asking not to be named, she said: “I put my son on the waiting list when he was just 16 weeks old on the recommendation of our health visitor who told me he needed a few months.

“After six months of hearing nothing, I asked a local Facebook group if anyone had been successfully given an NHS dental place for their child.

“It became clear that the majority of people were waiting at least 12 months and were often allocated dentists in completely different parts of the city to where they live.

“I decided to call local dental practices directly to see if they had spaces, but none were available.

“A surgery told me they could match my son for an appointment but it would cost £110 up front for the first visit and then we would have to use their dental plan.”

Waiting list

The mother then decided to make a Freedom of Information request to find out how many people were on the waiting list for NHS general dentistry in the Cardiff and Vale University Health Board area at the start of March 2023.

The board said there were 19,496 people on the waiting list, with five people waiting the longest at 62.7 weeks.

She also asked how many waited longer than the target period, but was told there is currently no target time.

Asked to respond to the mother’s concerns, a health board spokeswoman said: “Access to NHS dental services across Wales has been under significant pressure following the pandemic, and this also reflects the position in Cardiff and the Vale of Glamorgan.

“Despite service capacity and increased demand, every effort has been made to improve patient access to NHS dental services.

“In Cardiff and Vale, the health board has introduced a central waiting list to measure demand for NHS dental services in the area and support patients to find an NHS dentist near their home address. “The central waiting list is currently undergoing validation, which will enable the health board to have a more accurate understanding of patients waiting to be allocated to an NHS dentist.

“While the number of people across Cardiff and the Vale of Glamorgan waiting for an NHS dentist is high, the health board is working closely with dental practices offering NHS dental services to increase emergency access.

“Furthermore, under the 2023/2024 Dental Contract Reform, a large proportion of people will be removed from the central waiting list and allocated an NHS dentist as part of the contractual requirements.

“Under the dental contract reform, from April 2022 to February 2023, a total of 27,793 new patients have presented to NHS dental services in Cardiff and the Vale.

“Any patient in 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 24/7 Cardiff and Vale clinician will carry out an assessment, provide telephone advice and guidance on pain relief and, if required, book an emergency dental clinic appointment.”