Dental Academy Bangor

Dear Mr Smith,
Thank you for your feedback. We are sorry to hear that you were disappointed with your recent visit and understand the frustration of travelling a considerable distance.

As of 1st April, changes to NHS dental contracts have been introduced and are enforced by the Health Board. These changes place a much greater emphasis on prevention, including diet advice and oral health education, and involve the use of a wider multi-skilled dental team rather than relying solely on dentists.

The two-stage appointment system you attended is part of this new approach. It is designed to ensure that patients receive appropriate preventative care and advice at the earliest stage, while also allowing for more effective use of NHS dental appointments overall. This is particularly important given the high demand for services and limited availability. For example, within our practice alone, we have had over 1,000 missed appointments since April 2024.

We appreciate that you may feel this could have been handled differently; however, prevention and early intervention are now considered just as important as direct treatment by a dentist under current NHS guidance. Our practice is working within these requirements to ensure we can continue to provide care to as many patients as possible, particularly those who may otherwise struggle to access dental services.

We are sorry to hear that you are not happy with this process. If you feel it does not meet your needs, you are welcome to return to the Dental Access Portal (DAP) system to explore alternative arrangements.

Thank you again for your feedback

Dental Academy Bangor