FEWER than a third of adults attended dental appointments as the coronavirus pandemic brought disruption to Cumbria, figures suggest.

NHS England data shows a steep drop in people visiting the dentist in 2020 and 2021, with millions across England missing check-ups and treatment.

The figures are proof that NHS dentistry is at the "last chance saloon" and in urgent need of reform, according to the British Dental Association.

In the two years to December 2021, 131,240 adults in Cumbria attended an appointment – the equivalent of 32 per cent of the population.

That is significantly down on the 24 months to December 2019 when 189,988 – 47 per cent – attended.

Between March and June 2020, dental practices were instructed to close and defer routine, non-urgent dental care to limit the spread of Covid-19.

According to the BDA, more than a year's worth of dentistry has been lost to the pandemic so far, with the association's research showing 40 million fewer courses of treatment were delivered between April 2020 and December 2021.

Data relating to children is recorded on an annual basis and shows that the volume of dentist visits, which declined significantly during the pandemic, showed signs of improvement last year.

Nationally, 5.1 million children were seen by an NHS dentist in the year to December – 43 per cent of the child population.

Last year, 46 per cent of Cumbria's child population – 42,943 youngsters – saw their dentist, compared to 32 per cent in 2020 and 60 per cent in 2019.