Dental health trends explored
by Guy Hiscott
New research from the University of Ulster shows that people living in poverty or in a deprived area of Northern Ireland are less likely to be registered with a dentist and more likely to have serious oral health problems because of a lack of preventive care.
In their book, Figuring it Out: Looking Behind the Social Statistics in Northern Ireland, academics Dr Ann Marie Gray and Goretti Horgan highlight the disparity between public funding in Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK.
In recent years there has been considerable focus on the growing number of people unable to get dental treatment on the NHS and the impact of this in terms of equity and oral health issues.
The problems in accessing NHS dentists faced in some areas is reflected in the numbers of people registered with a dentist in Northern Ireland, which dropped from 913,303 in 2006 to 862,864 at a time when the population was growing.
At the launch of the book, the Vice Chancellor of the University of Ulster, Professor Richard Barnett, said: ‘This book is very much in keeping with the current emphasis on the need for academic research to have maximum impact in the wider community.’
Figuring it Out: Looking Behind the Social Statistics in Northern Ireland is available at www.ark.ac.uk.
