NHS dentist shortage forces school to call in charity

Pupils unable to find a local NHS dentist to relieve their excruciating tooth pain have been treated at their school by a charity.

Children at Trinity Academy Grammar in West Yorkshire have been left in tears during lessons and taken out of class to receive pain relief, staff said.

As more students suffered, the school called upon volunteer dentists who usually work in developing countries.

The government said it had put an extra £50m into NHS dental services.

Charlie Johnson, headteacher of the school in Sowerby Bridge, near Halifax, said the ongoing problems had led to increased absences and were affecting pupils' learning.

He took his concerns to public health officials, who told him there was a shortage of local NHS dentists taking on patients.

They put the school in touch with Dentaid, a UK charity that normally provides dental treatment to people in developing countries or to vulnerable groups such as the homeless.

Mr Johnson said he knew he had to act after looking inside the mouth of one distressed student and seeing a significant amount of decay.

"We've had to take students to the hospital because tooth decay has been that bad," he said.

"That has not only taken them out of lessons, but it's taken our staff away from the school building to care for them."

As a result, a mobile clinic was brought to the school and volunteer dentists found about one in 10 of its 900 pupils needed treatment for conditions such as decay, cracked teeth and abscesses.

Jenna, 13, said she used to fall asleep during lessons after being kept awake all night by a toothache.

When she was examined, dentists found an abscess which had been giving her so much pain she was unable to focus on her lessons.

The Year 9 pupil said: "It affected my learning because there was a constant pain and I couldn't concentrate on what the teacher was saying."

Another student, Caine, who needed a tooth removing, said his parents could not get him in to see an NHS dentist.

The 15-year-old said: "We went to one in Elland and they said I needed an extraction or a cap in my tooth, but because it wasn't NHS I'd have to pay £50.

"My mum and dad couldn't afford it, so I didn't get it done."

Dentaid practice manager Sarah Hutchins said it was the first time the charity's staff had been asked to come and work in a UK school.

"We've seen a lot of children with a lot of holes in their teeth and who needed teeth removed. Once we've stabilised that, it will be a question of keeping on top of it," she said.

The school said it was "frustrating" it had been forced to step in to provide dental treatment, but added that parents often found it impossible to access help.

According to government figures, 57% of pupils at Trinity Academy have been eligible for free school meals in the last six years, against a national average of 27%.

Development manager Kelly Green said: "There are students who have been referred on for multiple extractions and quite complex treatment, so it's clear they will have been in severe pain.

"I think in those circumstances, the dentists were surprised they were actually able to keep coming into school."

The British Dental Association said the situation at Trinity Academy showed that NHS dentistry was on its "last legs", and urged the government to "pick up the pace on the reform".

Chairman Eddie Crouch said: "We salute these volunteers, but this isn't the Victorian era.

"A wealthy 21st Century nation shouldn't be relying on charities to provide basic healthcare to our children."

A spokesperson for the Department of Health and Social Care said the £50m funding boost would allow up to 350,000 extra dental appointments to be provided.

"That's on top of our unprecedented support for NHS dentists during the pandemic, including protecting the incomes of dental practices which couldn't deliver all their usual services and tackling the Covid backlog," they added.

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