EFFORTS to get patients into the dentist’s chair are beginning to succeed thanks to innovative projects by local health officials.

More than 1.6 million people in the North-East now have access to an NHS dentist thanks to a national funding boost of £28m.

In County Durham and Darlington recent initiatives have succeeded in swelling numbers to new heights.

These initiatives include:

• New dental practices at Bowburn, Esh Winning and the Eastbourne area of Darlington;
• The development of outreach work by dental practice staff supported by the Primary Care Trust;
• Funding so practices can develop links with local children’s centres, Sure Start schemes and primary schools to promote oral health and increase access to dental care;
• Funding so practices can put on open events for young children, their carers and families, allowing them to visit dental practices and learn about healthier eating, ride in the dental chair and play at being nurses and dentists.

David Landes, Deputy Director of Public Health with NHS County Durham and Darlington Public Health Team, said: “We are pleased to see that there have been increases in both children and adults securing access to NHS dental services.

This has been achieved by significant investments in new dental services over the years.

“An informal approach with the public has had significant benefits in allowing parents to acclimatise their children to a dental practice where there might be concerns regarding taking them to their first appointment. We are delighted with all the hard work put in by our local NHS dental practices to make this happen.”

As a result of these initiatives more than 70 per cent of children aged five to nine have seen a dentist in County Durham and nearly 80 per cent of children aged five to nine have seen a dentist in Darlington.

In May 2010, the government made a commitment to increase the number of people able to see a dentist on the NHS.

Health Secretary Andrew Lansley said: “I am delighted that an extra one million people are now seeing dentists through the NHS. This just shows that NHS dentistry is becoming more accessible.

“We want to make sure that this progress continues and that dentists give the highest standards of care as well as treating more patients. That is why we are testing new ways of working across the country.

“We will use the findings from these trials to develop a new dental contract which will help to improve the quality of dental treatment patients receive.”