Almost five million calls about dental problems made to NHS helpline

Data acquired from the government by the Labour Party, which shows 111 calls made this year for dental problems are at a record high, at over 1.2m.

Data shows a whopping 3,327 calls a day were made on average for 2023/4 compared to 2,024 calls made in 2019/20. These sky-high figures even trump the number of 111 calls made during the pandemic (1.1m in 2020/1), when patients could not see an NHS dentist.

These figures expose the consequences of being unable to access an NHS dental appointment after 14 years of Conservative government. The crisis in NHS dentistry is well-documented, with eight out of 10 dental practices no longer accepting new NHS patients and one in 10 people having been forced to attempt their own dental work. As people are unable to access dental care, their symptoms deteriorate, and they are forced to rely on emergency services once their condition has significantly worsened.