Dental inequalities are hard to swallow

3:36pm Thursday 27th March 2008

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LESS money was spent on dental care in Hampshire than most other places in the country, new figures have revealed.

Hampshire health chiefs spent just £30 a head on dental care in the county - a massive 67 per cent lower than in some areas of the country.

The figures come as it was revealed that dental health among Southampton's under-fives was far worse than the national average.

Fluoridation And they were published on the same day that Prime Minister Gordon Brown, pictured left, insisted fluoridation of the city's tap water would benefit residents.

The statistics, released by the Information Centre for Health and Social Care, showed expenditure on dental care increased by just 30 per cent over eight years between 1997/8 and 2005/6 - the lowest rate in the country.

Health bosses raised the amount they spent over the period from £41.9m to £54.4m while south Yorkshire increased its spend by 69 per cent.

A spokesman from the National Association of Dentists said health bosses needed to ensure money was ploughed into areas like Southampton.

She said: "Where there are pockets of need, there should be greater funding in those areas.

"We would also call for PCTs to have access to dental expertise and professionals who can advise in terms of providing the appropriate care."

NHS South Central spokesman Sandra White said the figures appeared low as there may have been a lack of NHS dentists choosing to work in the area at the time.

She added that the state of residents' teeth was not necessarily linked to access to dental practices.

"The figures were bad because the amount spent was dependent on whether dentists wanted to set up in the area and how hard they worked," she said.

"There was a lack of dentists, but that was their choice - nobody had any power over them. These days the PCT has power over their contracts and funds are not lost when dental practices decide to leave.

"Also, when you look at provision of dentistry, you might find it is a different picture when you take into account the number of private practices."

The data refers to outlay in England on NHS dental care before the new dental contract came into force on April 1 2006.