NHS Dental Crisis
NHS dental crisis 'has caused surge in hospital admissions'
30 May 2008 Breaking News
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There has been a clear increase in the number of hospital admissions due to dental problems which could have been caused by a lack of access to NHS dentists.
Research from the University of Bristol shows that the number of people admitted to hospital with dental abscesses has doubled in the past ten years.
The study, published on bmj.com, reveals that the total number of hospital admissions and bed days due to drainage of a dental abscess almost doubled during a surveillance period of between 1998/99 to 2005/6.
The research highlights the case of one 48 year-old man who was twice advised to find a dentist, but unable to do so. The man was eventually admitted to a NHS hospital critical care unit after he was found unconscious by his partner. He spent three weeks in the unit. In another case highlighted by researchers, a 48 year-old woman spent 44 days in hospital after being referred to an emergency unit by her GP. None of the patients was registered with a dentist.
The authors behind the research said that since the oral health of the population has improved between 1998/99 and 2005/06, the reason for this "dramatic" increase in hospital admissions is most likely to be changes in the provision of dental care in the UK. There has been a fall in the number of people registered with an NHS dentist from 23 million in 1994 to 17 million in 2003/4, they point out.
Although the researchers suggest that "some caution" should be used when analysing their findings, they believe they have uncovered a "major public health problem".
They said: "We believe that a doubling in a preventable condition that can have major consequences and that can even result in death constitutes a major public health problem that requires urgent action."
Date: 01/07/2008
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