Fear of dental visits stopping Brits from getting oral care

• Research at Centre for Dentistry has found a third of Brits say they fear a dental visit
• Only one in ten UK adults meets the criteria for excellent oral health
• Expert dentist Cathal Hayes gives advice to maintain oral health


New research conducted by Centre for Dentistry has found that a third of Brits say they fear the dentist’s chair and a whopping 79% say they are put off receiving dental advice. While we are fairly happy to visit GPs and local hospitals for medical attention, visiting the dentist attracts an undeserved stigma with experts believing fear, time and cost hinders Britons from attending a dental practice.

Further research from the NHS has shown that only 58.7% of the child population visited a dentist last year, and 50.5% of the adult population have visited a dentist in 24 months prior to December 2018. Overall, 41% of Brits will seek advice over poor oral health despite only 6% of us reporting we are happy with our smile.

While the ‘sugar tax’ was brought in under a year ago in a bid to discourage the amount of sugar we consume through drinks, and primarily aimed at children - almost nine out of ten tooth extractions in hospitals were for rotting teeth in young children.

A staggering 15,000 children had tooth extractions last year with a near 13,000 of them being a result of tooth decay and could have been avoided with regular dentist visits or advice. Alarmingly, nearly 100,000 less people in the UK visited the dentist last year and a high number of people continue to avoid dental visits.

Expert dentist and managing Director of Centre for Dentistry Cathal Hayes believes fear is just one of the major reasons why we are avoiding the chair, with research showing time and cost also stops 1 in 7 of us from taking a visit.

As Cathal describes “Dental anxiety is a real issue for many people – a recent survey we conducted found that fear was a key reason why people avoided the dentist. Luckily, dentistry has changed greatly in the past 10-15 years. This means that dental anxiety is reducing and dentists work hard to ensure a positive experience for patients.”

In a bid to reduce fear and encourage check-ups, Cathal is making his practices accessible in Sainsbury’s across the country and focusing on building relationships with patients and children as early as possible.

“Building a trusted relationship with the dentist and having a positive experience can be even more important than the examination itself and means that patients and children are much more likely to grow up with positive feelings about their oral health with trips to the dentist,” says Cathal. “Centre for Dentistry is helping to bring dentistry to patients in an accessible, convenient and easy to understand way – which is why you can find us inside Sainsbury’s. Firmly focused on preventative dentistry, we want to help keep people in good health for as long as possible, and looking after your oral health is a key part of that.”

Currently, only one in ten UK adults meets the criteria for excellent oral health, with around a third suffering from tooth decay, notably caused by excess sugar. To avoid this, experts are advising Brits to go for a simple check-up, talk issues through with their dentists and take advice on-board.

For more information about Centre for Dentistry please visit centrefordentistry.com.

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For any further info or images, please contact Tom on Thomas@kincomms.com or 02039587175.

EDITORS’ NOTES
Cathal Hayes is the Clinical Director of Centre for Dentistry which is an active member of the Association of Dental Groups (ADG). He completed his BDS in Cork, Ireland and his Masters of Business Administration (MBA) in Hult International Business School, Boston, USA.

Centre for Dentistry practices operate across the whole of the UK.

RESEARCH
Research was conducted by Centre for Dentistry in 2019 and NHS Digital Dental Statistics First & Second Quarterly Report.

ABOUT CENTRE FOR DENTISTRY
Centre for Dentistry is a modern breed of dentist, focusing on accessibility, friendly and easy-going preventative dentistry. Easily accessible with appointments on the weekend, evening and in Sainsbury’s across the country – Centre for Dentistry promises to make the experience of dentistry a positive one.