U.K. SHORT OF DENTISTS

Press, Volume C, Issue 29468, 21 March 1961, Page 3

U.K. SHORT OF DENTISTS

Six-Year Wait For Treatment <Special Crspdt N.Z.P.A.) (Rec. 8 p.m.) LONDON, March 20. There is such a shortage of dentists in Britain that unless there is an immediate improvement, some children might have to wait six years before being able to get treatment ‘at school dental services, says the “Daily Mirror.” School dental services, it adds, are more than 50 per cent, understaffed and the shortage threatens to become even worse. Altogether, Britain urgently needed at least 4000 more dentists. Never have there been fewer dentists to go round, the paper says. In 1926, there was one dentist to 3000 people. The ratio today is one to 4000. In the school dental services there is on the average one dentist to every 7000 pupils and some dentists with long waiting lists are working 12 hours a day and still cannot cope. Fewer young men and women are joining the dental profession and the number of patients is growing every day. New recruits to the profession are only enough to replace the centists who retire.

A British Dental Association spokesman told the- " Daily Mirror” that one reason for the shortage was that the profession was not sufficiently attractive to young people. A big problem was the shortage of training schools. There were only 16 schools in the whole of Britain and five of these were in London. School dentists were even harder to attract. There were so few prospects of promotion for a newcomer.