While getting a check up at the dentists may be a chore for some, the ability to be seen by a dentist when you need it is common place for many cities across the country.
However data from the NHS dental registry website shows that only THREE of the Lincoln’s NHS registered dentists are accepting new adult patients.
There are seventeen NHS registered dentists within a five mile radius of the city centre meaning that under 20% of the dental surgeries in the city are accepting new patients.
This problem is representative of the dental surgeries across the county with only 20% of practices in the county showing as being available for new adult patients with a mere 27 of the 135 practices.
However some of the practices are accepting NHS patients who are referred to them by a dental practitioner. Of the seventeen in the city centre, seven practices will accept referred NHS patients while 34 practices across the county.
However some surgeries have provided no information to the NHS about their ability to accept new patients meaning that the only way for potential patients to know if they have space is to contact each practice individually.
The website also shows an out of five rating for each practice which is comprised of reviews from the public.
The NHS website also says that people can need to get check ups on their teeth from anywhere between 3 months and 2 years, with most dentists recommending a check up once every 6 months.
Cosmetic treatments are not available on the NHS