Campaign gets teeth into dental crisis
A major campaign launched to tackle the dentistry crisis in the UK is being led by the University of Lincoln.
Strong Roots for Oral Health addresses the critical state of the dental workforce and the need to improve access to treatment by calling for a new approach to how the UK trains dentists, rooted in the communities where need is greatest.
A university spokesperson explained: “At the heart of the campaign is a simple message - strong roots start here. Across Lincolnshire and much of the East of England, access to NHS dental care has reached crisis point.
“In some areas, fewer than one in three people can access NHS dentistry, with rural and coastal communities facing the greatest barriers.
“Families are travelling long distances for basic care, and children are experiencing significantly higher levels of tooth decay than the national average. Boston has dental decay rates of 40% in five-year-olds – well above the national averages of 27%.
“Despite this, the region remains one of the only parts of England without a dental school, limiting the ability to train and retain the workforce it urgently needs.”
The Lincolnshire Institute of Dental and Oral Health was officially opened at the university in March to strengthen the local dental workforce of hygienists and dental nurses and improve access to NHS dental care across the county.
But the campaign with its Dentist Manifesto aims to get this facility upgraded to a full dental school that trains dentists that will then work in the area.
Professor Neal Juster, university Vice Chancellor added: “We should be training dentists where they are needed most. Strong Roots is about demonstrating how we fix dental access in rural and coastal Britain.
“Across Lincolnshire, we see the impact of limited access to NHS dentistry every day, so in March, we launched the Lincolnshire Institute for Dental and Oral Health, bringing together partners to begin building the workforce our communities need.
“The Strong Roots campaign builds on that foundation. It shows that where and how we train dentists matters as much as how many we train – helping improve access, tackle inequalities, and create a workforce rooted in local communities.
“We are ready to deliver. Strong Roots is an invitation to the public, partners and policymakers to back a sustainable solution for the future of NHS dentistry.”
The campaign, which describes Lincolnshire as a ‘dental desert’ has cross-party support including from Hamish Falconer, MP for Lincoln, who said: “The University of Lincoln has a strong track record of delivering for our region – training healthcare professionals, investing in outstanding facilities like these, and working closely with NHS and civic partners to tackle health inequalities. It is a shining example of how a university can help make people’s lives better.
“Lincoln is uniquely positioned to serve not just our county, but the wider East Midlands and East of England – with strong clinical networks and deep reach into rural and coastal communities.
“We have the infrastructure. We have the partnerships. We have the political will across all parties.
“We are ready to go further. A full dental school right here would mean training dentists who are rooted in our communities from day one. We have the foundations. We have the talent. Now, we need the school to train the dentists our region deserves.”
The public can support the campaign by visiting www.lincoln.ac.uk/strongroots