More than 130,000 calls to emergency dental care phone lines – Lib Dems

More than 136,000 calls to emergency dental care lines have been made since the start of 2019, according to research by the Scottish Liberal Democrats.

Freedom of information data obtained by the party showed how many calls were made to emergency dental lines for those who are not registered with an NHS dentist.

Among the health boards which said they collected the data, a total of 136,555 calls were recorded between the start of 2019 and the year to date 2023.

It comes ahead of a new dental payment system which begins on November 1, which will push up the cost of several treatments.

Lib Dem leader Alex Cole-Hamilton raised the issue at First Minister’s Questions on Thursday.

He said: “Vast numbers of people are being forced to call emergency dental helplines because they can’t find an NHS dentist.

“An investigation I’m publishing today shows that happened almost 16,000 times last year in Fife alone.

“That’s hardly surprising given that there is just one Fife practice accepting new NHS patients.

“Across Scotland people are desperate, some even resorting to DIY dentistry.”

He said the new payment system would introduce charges.

In response, Humza Yousaf said the pandemic had caused a “significant impact” on dentistry in Scotland.

The First Minister also said the government had removed dental charges for those aged under 26.

He said: “In terms of growing the NHS dental workforce in Scotland, we have 55 dentists per 100,000 of the population.

“That’s compared to 43 per 100,000 in England.

“So we are investing in our NHS dental services.”