Thousands in Yorkshire turning up to overstretched A&Es each year with toothache and other dental complaints

Critics have blamed the growing trend on rocketing fees for NHS dentistry and continued difficulty accessing appointments, particularly in England – even before the first coronavirus wave brought dental treatment to a standstill.

The British Dental Association (BDA), which represents dentists, has called on the Government to “stop treating our patients like a cash cow”.

Health chiefs have urged people with urgent tooth problems to seek treatment at emergency dental services instead of A&Es.

More than 77,000 people turned up at the UK’s A&E departments and minor injury services in 2019/20 with dental problems costing the NHS an estimated £13m, the figures obtained by JPIMedia Investigations show.

Across Yorkshire and the Humber, more than 5,000 turned up to A & E at an estimated cost of £1.4m to the NHS, the fourth highest region in the UK.

The highest cost in the region was recorded for Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust at £190,008. The trust also had the highest number of people turning up with dental problems with 1,131.

At Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust the cost was £155,904, with 928 people turning up to A&Es or minor injury services with dental problems. Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust had the third highest cost with £132,552 and saw 789 people in A&E.

The data showed the highest cost in a region was the North West (£1.6m), followed by the South West (£1.5m) and the South East (£1.46m) - with a total cost of £12.9m to the NHS in the UK.

And with not all NHS bodies responding to our Freedom of Information requests, health experts say they fear the real cost will be higher. Common complaints included toothache, cavities and gum disease.

The BDA said in almost all cases, patients were unlikely to get anything more than pain relief and would be referred to a dentist, meaning this route offered people little help while lumbering the NHS with extra costs.

Dave Cottam, chairman of its General Dental Practice committee, said: “It’s no surprise patients were turning up at A&E departments in droves. Millions have struggled to secure an NHS dental appointment, and those that do find themselves clobbered with inflation-busting hikes in charges.

“Covid has simply upped the ante. When ministers treat dentistry as a Cinderella service the impact is felt across the NHS. Sadly, a decade of cuts is pushing patients to overstretched A&E medics and GPs who are neither trained nor equipped to treat them. We will see no progress until the Government stops treating our patients like a cash cow and provides adequate funding.”

A spokesperson for the Department of Health and Social Care said: “Dental charges help towards the running costs of the NHS, but we carefully consider them every year and continue to offer people on low-incomes free treatment through exemptions and the NHS low-income scheme.”

They added that all dentists have been able to remain open during the second national lockdown, and those practices holding NHS contracts have continued to be paid in full throughout the pandemic.

In England, almost 64,000 people suffering dental problems turned to A&E departments and minor injury units in 2019/20, figures released by hospital trusts under the Freedom of Information Act show.

In England, dental treatment fees have seen nearly a decade of inflation-busting hikes. A fee rise planned for April was postponed because of the coronavirus pandemic.