THE impact of the coronavirus pandemic on dental care has been laid bare by new figures revealing a slump in treatments delivered to Worcestershire patients.

The British Dental Association said the pandemic has exacerbated problems in NHS dentistry, with millions of appointments lost due to ongoing infection control measures.

NHS Digital data reveals 121,000 dental treatments were given to NHS patients in Worcestershire between June 2020 and March this year – a 70 per cent drop from 408,000 in the same period the previous year.

Dental practices were told to halt all routine dental care from March 25 until June 8 last year, when they reopened with strict infection control rules due to Covid-19.

In January, the Government told NHS dentists they should deliver 45 per cent of their pre-pandemic activity, rising to 60 per cent in April.

But the BDA said capacity across dental services remains low, with around half the NHS practices in England not meeting targets.

Shawn Charlwood, chairman of the BDA's general dental practice committee, said: "Dentists in England have had capacity slashed by pandemic restrictions and need help to get patients back through their doors.

"Sadly, while every other UK nation has committed funds, Westminster chose to impose targets that thousands of practices are now struggling to hit."

Sara Hurley, the NHS's chief dental officer, said: “It’s inevitable that the upheaval caused by Covid has disrupted some people’s dental care, but dentists have been prioritising treatment for patients in urgent need, in part through the rapid establishment of 600 urgent dental centres – with millions still getting care through the pandemic."

A government spokesman said: “The Government continues to support the dental sector and we are working closely with the health service to increase access to NHS dental care as fast as possible.”