An NHS Digital report has revealed that the number of adults seen by NHS dentists within the recommended timeframes decreased by 9.5% in 2021-22 compared to the previous year.

According to the data, 16.4 million adults in England were seen for NHS dental treatment in the two years up to June 2022. In the two years up to June 2021, 18.1 million adults were seen.

The data also shows that 5.6m children were seen in the 12 months up to June 2022. This marks an increase of 42.1 per cent compared to the 12 months up to June 2021, when 3.9m were seen. However, in the 12 months up to June 2019, 7 million children were seen, so the recent statistics show a 20.2 per decrease compared to 2019.

The decrease can be attributed to the pandemic, as dental practices were instructed to close for routine care in March 2020. The number of people being seen by an NHS dentist is increasing, but has not yet returned to pre-pandemic levels.

    
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