People wanting treatment from the only NHS dentist in one of Britain’s most impoverished seaside towns have been told they could face a decade-long wait for an appointment.
There are currently 8,500 people on the waiting list for the solitary NHS dental provider in Bridlington on Yorkshire’s east coast with people being warned it could take nine years for them to get seen.
The 35,000 population are served by the solitary NHS mydentist practice after two others closed permanently in 2022.
The only other surgery, Bridlington Dental Studio, exclusively treats private patients but still has a waiting list that residents claim is “10 pages long”.
Townsfolk are so desperate they have taken drastic measures such as travelling overseas or even using superglue to fix broken crowns.
Mydentist confirmed they are “actively recruiting new NHS clinicians to join the team” but confirmed their patient list is “currently at full capacity”.
The NHS says it has so far failed to attract new dental providers into Bridlington, “despite our best efforts”.
The historic fishing port is classed as one of the most deprived areas in England, with West Bridlington having the second lowest average wage in the country and that is deterring dentists from moving to work in the town.
Among those affected by the chronic shortage is dad-of-five Wayne Campbell who moved “back home” to Bridlington with his family six months ago.
But whilst the lorry driver has remained a patient close to his previous home in Warwickshire, his wife and children’s different practice closed down.
He said: “Whenever I need a check-up or any work doing I have to travel down to Rugby, which is roughly a three-hour drive.”
His family are now on a waiting list for a practice in Scarborough – 18 miles away.
Wayne added: “They said there’s still an extremely long wait and they don’t know when we can get in.”
Meanwhile fellow residents mum Emma and her son Dexter, nine, cannot find an NHS dentist within 30 miles after Bridlington’s Bupa practice shut in November 2022.
She said: “I went in one day and they said ‘all the dentists have left’. I’ve just been left adrift really.”
The mum, who recently needed an emergency tooth removal, is on “a waiting list, for a waiting list” for the Scarborough practice.
She added: “I know one person who rang an emergency dentist and they ended up in Doncaster. I have a friend who kept her dentist in Manchester. If you move here, you just don’t let your dentist go.”
Emma says she recently found an NHS dentist in Hull – a 60 miles round trip – for Dexter who is type 1 diabetic and regularly needs to drink glucose. At his first ever dental appointment he needed five fillings.
She added: “I was getting very anxious trying to get him in to be seen. I knew it was an issue, all the glucose we use. It’s heartbreaking that’s he’s waited until nearly 10 to get a dentist.”
A mydentist spokesperson said: “As the only NHS provider in Bridlington, we are aware of the high demand for NHS dental care in the area.
“While our practice team continues to work hard to treat as much of the local community as they can, we are currently at full capacity.
“Despite a national shortage of dentists, we are actively recruiting new NHS clinicians to join the team in the hopes of growing this capacity in the future.”
NHS Humber and North Yorkshire Integrated Care Board (ICB), which took over responsibility for commissioning dental services in
East Yorkshire last April, said it had “every sympathy with patients who are in this position.”
A statement said: “We have not yet been able to attract new dental providers into Bridlington, despite our best efforts. We are continuing to work with existing providers to increase access where we can and will continue to try and attract new provision through the procurement route.”
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