NHS dentists warn it will take years to clear Covid backlog of 43 million appointments

NHS dentists have warned it will take years to clear a backlog of more than 43 million appointments missed because of the pandemic.

Covid curbs slashed the number of patients that could be seen.

It came amid the worst recruitment and retention crisis in NHS dentistry since the health service was created in 1948, said the British Dental Association.

It claims in some areas there is effectively no NHS service because the Government has failed to invest.

Shawn Charlwood, chairman of the BDA’s general dental practice committee, said: “We’ve lost some 3,000 NHS dentists since lockdown, the direct result of choices made by governments for over a decade.”

The number of patients that could be seen were slashed during the pandemic (Getty Images)

A Department of Health and Social Care spokesman said: “We are working with the sector to tackle the backlogs.”