Lincolnshire to get 29,000 new dental appointments

Almost 30,000 new dental appointments a year will be offered in Lincoln, Boston and Skegness, according to an NHS boss.

Amanda Sullivan, chief executive of NHS Lincolnshire Integrated Care Board (ICB), said more than £3m would be spent on creating about 29,000 appointments and it was hoped the first bookings would be taken by the end of next year.

The three areas had been identified by the ICB as those where there was "unmet need" and oral health was "the poorest".

Sullivan said: "We see dental services as very important and we know that people currently struggle to access them."

While Sullivan was unable to say whether there would be new dental practices or an expansion of existing surgeries, she said there would be "substantial increases" in provision.

"We are open minded in terms of how that works and exactly which premises.

"We are very much thinking this needs to be additional as well as boosting the existing sites."

According to NHS statistics for the 2024-25 financial year, there were more than 447,000 courses of dental treatment in the Lincolnshire ICB region.

Sullivan said NHS dentists had moved over to private care for "perfectly understandable reasons" over a duration of "many, many years" and this had caused a shortfall in services.

The new appointments would be accessible to all residents in Lincolnshire.

Earlier this month, the University of Lincoln asked the public to back a campaign to bring a dental school to the region in the hope that it would improve access to care.

A survey has been launched by the NHS Lincolnshire ICB inviting people to share their views on the plan for more appointments.

Sullivan said anyone experiencing dental pain or in need of urgent dental care should call 111 for help.

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