The extent of the dentistry crisis in Wales is currently unclear, a report has found. The Senedd's cross-party health and social care committee published the findings of its inquiry into dentistry in Wales on Wednesday.
The inquiry found that it was very difficult to get a clear picture of how many people were currently waiting to see an NHS dentist as there is no centralised waiting list. It also found that there was no centrally-held data on the number of patients being treated privately.
It comes after the BBC reported that the access for new patients to NHS general dentistry across the UK was very poor with research finding that access for new patients in Wales was overall the worst. In summer last year the research showed that the percentage of NHS dental practices not accepting new adult patients was 93% in Wales while it was 91% in England, 90% in Northern Ireland, and 82% in Scotland.
