Less than half Hartlepool adults have attended dental appointments since Covid

Fewer than half of adults in Hartlepool attended dental appointments because of the coronavirus pandemic, new figures suggest.

NHS England data shows that, in the two years to December 2021, 29,356 adults in town visited a dentist – 40% of the population – and significantly down on the previous 24 months when 37,458 (51%) attended an appointment.

Between March and June 2020, dental practices were instructed to close and defer routine, non-urgent dental care to limit the spread of Covid-19.

The figures also show 7,826 (39%) of youngsters in Hartlepool saw their dentist last year compared to 25% in 2020 and 54% in 2019.

The British Dental Association says the statistics are proof that NHS dentistry is at the “last chance saloon” and in urgent need of reform.

A spokeswoman for the Department of Health and Social Care said: "Levels of dental treatment are increasing and urgent care is back to pre-pandemic levels thanks to the hard work of staff."