SNP MUST ENSURE LIFESAVING DENTAL CHECKS AVAILABLE TO EVERYONE

The SNP must ensure that “lifesaving” dental checks are available to all Scots, Scottish Labour has urged after new data shows their role in identifying cancer.

Across Scotland, dentists have made more than 1,000 cancer-related referrals in 2023-24 alone, but the number of referrals varied dramatically by Health Board, indicating that the chances of a cancer being identified may depend on a patient’s geography.

The proportion of adults reporting difficulties visiting the dentist rose from 20 percent in 2019 to 34 percent in 2023, according to the latest Scottish Health Survey.

Scottish Labour’s Dental Spokesperson Paul Sweeney said: “Dentist checks have a life-saving role to play in the screening programmes that help us identify cancer early and treat it. 

"There are too many cases of late cancer diagnosis and delays in starting treatment that are causing preventable and premature deaths.

“This is why it’s all the more worrying that one in three Scots are struggling to access dentists, especially in the poorest areas.

“Scottish Labour will end the postcode lottery in access to NHS dentistry and incentivise newly-qualified dentists in the areas where they are most needed so that everyone can have access to these vital checks.”