A TOTAL of 49 per cent of people in Yorkshire and Humberside have had a bad experience while visiting the dentist, a new poll has revealed.

Patients are not inclined to forget the experience either, with 88 per cent admitting that their bad experience has made them feel more anxious about visiting the dentist in future.

Over a quarter of people said they have cancelled or missed an appointment because of this anxiety according to the research released by specialist dental negligence solicitors, the Dental Law Partnership.

Patients in the region reported a variety of reasons for their bad experiences at the dentist.

A total of 34 per cent didn’t think their dentist did a good job, while 27 per cent didn’t think their dentist put them at ease.

Over a third (34 per cent) didn’t think that the dentist knew what they were doing and 17 per cent felt their dentist was rude to them.

Interestingly, the symptoms of dental anxiety differ drastically from region to region:

• 55% of people in Yorkshire and Humberside got a feeling of dread while waiting to see the dentist, compared with 68% of people in the North West. Nationally the figure was only 49%

• 23% broke out in a sweat which was lower than the national average (25%), although only 13% of people in the North East said they sweated

• 34% of people in Yorkshire and Humberside ‘felt panicky’, but this wasn’t as high as in the West Midlands where the figure was 43%

• 4% reported crying while waiting to see the dentist, although the Welsh were twice as likely to cry (8%)

• But fear of pain was the thing people in Yorkshire and Humberside disliked most about going to the dentist (45%) compared with 42% of people nationally

Chris Dean, of the Dental Law Partnership, said: “There are many, many great dentists out there and a bit of anxiety is natural among patients but the survey does show some worrying results.

“We are seeing a rising number of claims against dentists and this is perhaps reflected in the findings of this survey with nearly half of all patients nationally saying they have had a bad experience and a significant minority either not trusting their dentists or feeling that they did not do a good job.”

The Dental Law Partnership has handled over 2,300 claims on behalf of clients in the past five years with a total settlement value of over £40.6 million.