Deaths From Oral Disease Overtake Car Accidents Toll
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- Published: Tuesday, 06 September 2022 07:41
- Written by Guy Tuggle
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No sooner had the ink dried on research carried out by the BBC in conjunction with the BDA, which confirmed what many in the profession suspected – that 90% of NHS dental practices are closed to new patients - than new research by GB News has revealed one of the predictable consequences.
‘Three quarters of hospitals have recorded an increase in patients presenting with mouth-related problems and ‘oral related deaths are at a five year high’.
According to the GB News website, ‘A freedom of Information request was sent to every hospital trust in the UK asking how many people had been referred with teeth, gum and other mouth-related injuries.
73% of the 88 respondents saw a rise in 2021 over 2020.
The most alarming finding by GB News came from the Office for National Statistics which showed that mouth related deaths are at their highest for five years.
‘In 2016, 2582 people died due to an oral-related reason – that increased to 2958 last year’ a report on the GB News site claimed. The number of road deaths in the UK plateaued from 2012 to 2019 at around 1,850 deaths a year, or the equivalent of five a day, on average.
Most areas saw an increase although some did experience a decrease.
Eddie Crouch, Chair of the BDA seized on the survey’s findings saying “As this devastating research from GB News shows, treating dentistry as a Cinderella service impacts every corner of our NHS
“It’s the overstretched GPs and A&E staff getting daily visits from patients unable to access dental care. It’s the scandal that tooth decay remains the number one reason for hospital admissions among young children.
“Now it’s oral cancers missed. This condition claims more lives than car accidents, yet there seems to be no willingness to support the dentists on the frontline in this battle” said Mr Crouch.
A Department of Health spokesperson told GB News that access to dental care was being improved and cited the allocation of £50M for 350,000 additional NHS appointments announced in January.
As reported by GDPUK last week, however, a FOI request revealed that this initiative was only taken up by 731 high street dentists who helped 64,456 mainly urgent care patients and utilised just 30% of the budget earmarked to help address the crisis.
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