FIGURES have shown Gloucestershire hospitals diagnosed over 200 patients in the last three years with issues attributed to tooth decay. 

The figures obtained by Public Interest Lawyers show that 220 patients had a diagnosis of tooth decay during their spell at one of Gloucestershire’s two large district general hospitals; Cheltenham General Hospital, or Gloucestershire Royal Hospital, since 2021.

The news comes amid struggles to get dental appointments or an NHS dentist. According to the BBC and the British Dental Association (BDA), 90% of dentists across the UK are not accepting new NHS adult patients, and many refuse to see a child unless a parent is signed up as a private patient.

Louise Ansari, chief executive at Healthwatch England, said more fundamental reforms are needed, to give everyone a right to register with a local NHS dentist, in the same way as they can with a GP.

She said: "At the moment, dentists are not obliged to keep patients on permanently, which affects continuity of care, while the payment model for dentists does not incentivise them to offer fully preventative care to patients."

In 2021/22, the number of patients diagnosed with tooth decay in Gloucestershire hospitals stood at 52. A year later, this number increased to 96, which is the highest number of patients diagnosed with tooth decay over the three-year period.