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The crisis in dentistry: why is it happening and what should we do about it?

Dental decay - the struggle to find an NHS dentist.

This week a great queue of dentistless Bristolians appeared outside a new practice offering NHS treatment.
That followed a report on children鈥檚 health which specifically referenced the poor and worsening state of their teeth.
This week the government announced a package to try and improve things in England. But did it go anything like far enough to solve the problems of too few dentists being willing or able to treat NHS patients?

David Aaronovitch is joined by the following experts:

Beccy Baird, Senior Fellow, the King鈥檚 Fund
Ian Mills, Dentist and Associate Professor of Primary Care Dentistry at the Peninsula Dental School in Plymouth
Thea Stein, Chief Executive of the Nuffield Trust
Professor Claire Stevens CBE, Spokesperson, British Society of Paediatric Dentistry

Production team: Nick Holland, Kirsteen Knight and Charlotte McDonald
Production Co-ordinator: Gemma Ashman
Sound: James Beard
Editor: Richard Vadon

Available now

29 minutes

Broadcasts

  • Thu 8 Feb 2024 20:00
  • Fri 9 Feb 2024 11:00

Podcast