DENTAL services in Northumberland are still feeling the impact of the coronavirus pandemic, according to figures which show activity is yet to recover to pre-crisis levels.

The British Dental Association said the latest figures – which show treatments remain below pre-pandemic levels across England despite a surge in activity – show NHS dentistry is "on its last legs" and in need of urgent change.

In the year to March, a total of 177,517 courses of treatment were delivered to adults and children in the former Northumberland CCG area, figures from NHS Digital show.

This was more than double the 74,937 treatments delivered in 2020-21, but still 32 per cent below the pre-pandemic figure of 259,578.

Different figures show in the two years to June, 109,896 adults saw their local NHS dentist in Northumberland – 41 per cent of the over-18 population.

That represented another fall from 47 per cent in the 24 months to June 2021, which saw dental activity first hampered by the pandemic, and a drop from 56 per cent in the two years to June 2019.

The data also shows some 50 per cent of children (29,234) were seen by NHS dentists between July 2021 and June this year, compared to 34 per cent over the same period the previous year, and 64 per cent in 2018-19.

Nationally, dentists carried out 26.4 million treatments in 2021-22, though the BDA said this is just two-thirds of the average volumes delivered annually in the five years prior to the pandemic.

Eddie Crouch, chairman of the BDA, said: "What we're seeing isn't a recovery, but a service on its last legs.

"NHS dentistry is lightyears away from where it needs to be. Unless ministers step up and deliver much needed reform and decent funding, this will remain the new normal."

The latest data comes after a BDA and BBC analysis earlier this month found that across England 91 per cent of NHS practices were not accepting new adult patients – 4,933 of 5,416.

An NHS spokesman said: “The latest data show dental services are recovering post-pandemic, with over 26 million patient treatments delivered last year – up 120% from the year before, along with 1.7 million more children getting seen by an NHS dentist.

“To further support the ongoing restoration of NHS dentistry, we recently announced the first significant changes to dentistry since 2006, helping practices to improve access for the patients that need dental care the most.”