Over 28,000 children in Sefton haven’t seen a dentist in the last year as NHS places disappear

New figures uncovered by the Liberal Democrats highlight the worrying state of children’s teeth in our area.

In 2018 19,000 children across Sefton hadn’t seen a dentist in the last year. As of June 2022 this had skyrocketed to over 28,000.

Figures obtained by FOI shows that Merseyside is on the list for having one of the longest recorded wait times in the country for children needing dentistry work in hospital. One child had to wait for 49 days.

Southport Liberal Democrats are calling for Sefton Council to make the issue a priority in its health strategy and to raise awareness about the issue. Local measures could include a tooth health check and free toothpaste and toothbrushes as part of standard school health visits.

Lauren Keith, Liberal Democrat Councillor for Meols Ward commented: “These figures are simply shocking and will lead to a generation suffering from poor dental health and the social and economic repercussions that will go with it if it's not tackled.

“I could only find one dentist in Southport taking NHS patients when I was trying to register my daughter last year so I have no doubt that the number of children who haven’t seen a dentist is only set to rise further.

“This is a huge issue that successive governments have let drift but the situation in our area is now so serious that the Council must do what it can to highlight and address it. We cannot standby while NHS dentistry dies on our doorstep and let our children pay the price in years to come.”