MORE than half of adults in south Cumbria have not seen a dentist in the past two years, new figures show. 

The same figures reveal that two-thirds of children have not seen a dentist in the past year. 

The data from the annual NHS Dental Statistics for England reports reveals that in the South Cumbria and Lancashire Integrated Care Board area, hundreds of thousands of adults and children had not had recent dental care or a checkup before June 30 this year.  

These are the figures: 

  • 147,102 (42.9 per cent) children have not seen a dentist in the past 12 months
  • 753,733 (57.5 per cent) adults have not seen a dentist in the past two years

The South Lakes MP Tim Farron said he had heard stories of residents resorting to 'dangerous DIY dentistry' and has created a petition demanding action to improve the state of NHS dental care in rural regions.

The Westmorland Gazette: MP Tim Farron said that the government had allowed dental provision to reach 'crisis level'MP Tim Farron said that the government had allowed dental provision to reach 'crisis level' (Image: Tim Farron)

"The Conservative government has allowed NHS dental provision in Cumbria to reach crisis level, with far too many patients no longer able to access NHS treatment," he said.

READ MORE: Ormsgill School honours longest serving member of staff

“Having heard from dentists, patients, and having raised this in the House of Commons, we need to show the strength of public support for fixing this crisis. Some of the stories I have heard from residents unable to access care are appalling, including people forced to turn to dangerous DIY dentistry.

“Please sign our petition to show how strongly people feel about the lack of provision in rural areas, and that this issue cannot simply be ignored by the government.”

A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: "We are making progress to boost NHS dental services and the number of children seen by NHS dentists rose by 14 per cent last year. Compared to the previous year, 1.7 million more adults and 800,000 more children are receiving NHS dental care.

“We fund more than £3 billion of NHS dentistry a year and have announced plans to increase dental training places by 40 per cent. We have also recently launched a consultation to better utilise the skills of dental hygienists and therapists.

“Further measures to improve access and increase the number of NHS dentists through our dental recovery plan will be set out shortly."