The NHS have rolled out 700,000 more urgent dental appointments across the country.
Hundreds of thousands of people in the UK will be able to access urgent dental care as the NHS announces more urgent dental appointments.
NHS Dentistry was near crisis, as 1 in 4 patients who tried to see a dentist in the past two years were unable to do so.
Stephen Kinnock, Minister of State for Care said: “NHS dentistry has been left broken after years of neglect , with patients left in pain without appointments, or queueing around the block just to be seen."
700,000 appointments will be available, across the country, from April.
These appointments will target 'dental deserts', where patients are unable to get appointments from NHS patients.
They will be allocated appointments for patients who are in pain – including tooth infections or needing urgent repairs to a bridge.
In Norfolk and Waveney, there are just 31 dentists per 100,000 people.
One instance saw hundreds of patients gathered outside a dental practice, in St Paul's Bristol, in the hopes of getting an appointment.
Kinnock continued: “We promised we would end the misery faced by hundreds of thousands of people unable to get urgent dental care. Today we’re starting to deliver on that commitment."
Jacob Lant, Chief Executive of National Voices, said: “NHS dentistry has been left in a sorry state, with far too many people experiencing pain and discomfort because they can’t access basic care."
“These extra urgent appointments will be welcome and are a helpful first step, but fixing the nation’s oral health crisis will require a sustained effort."
The nation is also facing a children's oral health crisis, with tooth decay being the number one reason children aged five-nine are admitted to hospital.
More than a fifth of five-year-olds have signs of dental decay, according today from the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities.
