Why dental health must not become another casualty of the pandemic

Even before the pandemic, it'd be fair to say the UK had something of a dentistry crisis. Depending on whose figures you used, nearly half (49%) of adults admitted to not having been to see an NHS dentist in the previous two years, and the numbers accessing NHS dentistry had fallen to a 10-year low.

As it has so many areas of our lives, the Covid-19 pandemic has amplified and accelerated a pre-existing problem. The British Dental Association warned in July that Covid restrictions on appointments and how dentists could operate had led to 30 million NHS appointments being lost in England alone since March 2020. This situation was being exacerbated by an exodus of dentists from the profession, many of them taking early retirement, it added.

At the end of last year, Healthwatch England warned it had a seen a surge in the numbers struggling to access NHS dentistry, with 73% of people saying they were struggling to access dental care, and many even resorting to 'DIY' dentistry, including extracting their own teeth.

It's not just waiting lists, either. More often than not, the cost of accessing even an NHS dentist can put people off, especially when money is tight, as it is for many right now.

Even a basic check-up can set you back nearly £25, with bills potentially rising sharply if you need more complex treatment. More complex treatment of course becomes more likely if you haven't been keeping up with regular appointments, so potentially creating a vicious circle.

Yet, even though we often brush our teeth almost on autopilot twice a day (and we'll come to why that's a problem in its own right shortly), dental and oral hygiene is massively important as a health issue and something where you really should not be cutting corners.

As the NHS points out, the state of your teeth can affect your overall health, with gum disease for example being linked to other health complications, including stroke, diabetes and heart disease, and even problems in pregnancy and dementia.

A little-known but serious disease called infective endocarditis, caused by oral bacteria, can also be bad news for heart valves, causing blood clots and heart damage, as the British Heart Foundation explains.

A further issue is the fact that, even if we do brush our teeth, many of us don't do it properly or for long enough, to the extent that the NHS even has guidance on its website on how to keep your teeth clean.

On that note, you need to brush with fluoride toothpaste twice a day for about two minutes (which is longer than you may think). The NHS recommends downloading its Brush DJ app, which plays two minutes of music to help you keep going for the right amount of time.

It is also vital to take time to brush all the surfaces of all your teeth, including the inside and outside surfaces and the chewing surfaces of your teeth.

Then, when you have finished, spit out any excess toothpaste but don't immediately rinse your mouth out, as this will dilute the preventative effects of the fluoride in the toothpaste. It can also be a good idea to use dental floss or inter-dental brushes to clean between gaps.

When it comes to dental check-ups, the NHS advises to take the lead from your dentist. If you're healthy and with no dental issues to speak of, it might be that you're OK just to see a dentist once a year or even every second year. Often, however, it may be better to get checked out every six months or even every three.

Given the access and cost issues highlighted above, this then is where either employer-funded, or self-funded insurance-based dental plans and cash plans can step into the breach and be really attractive. This is especially the case when it comes to easing potential worries over the cost of making regular visits to the dentist.

Dental plans can be flexible, with different levels of cover available to allow them to be tailored.

WPA, for example, offers a 'Providental' Dental Plan. This covers routine treatment and check-ups, reimburses for emergencies, and provides cashback for restorative dental treatments following an injury (for example where the teeth, face or jaw have been damaged).

It also covers restorative treatment following oral cancer, including paying out a lump sum to cover the cost of treatment in an NHS hospital for a dental injury or oral cancer restorative treatment. You can find a full breakdown here.

While fear and pain remain the top two barriers stopping people going to see a dentist - something no dental plan can do much about - price is the third most common obstacle. Indeed, research has suggested more than half (52%) of adults would cancel an appointment if they had financial worries.

Reportedly, this drops to 31% amongst patients who have access to a dental plan, with 89% of those with a dental plan visiting their dentist every six months.

In summary, therefore, while none of us generally enjoys visiting the dentist, maintaining our oral health is a vital, regular health check-up that we need to be building into our lives, especially given the wider health complications that can be caused by poor health in this area.

Nic Paton is one of the country's foremost journalists on workplace health, safety and wellbeing, and is editor of Occupational Health & Wellbeing magazine. He also regularly writes on the health and employee benefits and health insurance markets.