Hundreds of people may have been scammed by a website offering NHS appointments at a fake dental practice.
This is according to officers from Trading Standards.
Advertised as ‘The Dental Practice Lincoln’, the website asked patients to input their personal details and pay for their first appointment in advance.
A BBC report described one patient who spotted the website on Facebook and signed up with his wife after searching for a new NHS dentist for six years.
They shared personal details, including their passport numbers. Once they realised the practice was non-existent, they spent £200 on new ones out of fear that their personal data had been stolen.
Lincolnshire Trading Standards confirmed similar websites have offered NHS treatments at fake dental practices in both Norfolk and West Yorkshire.
The British Dental Association (BDA) warned of scams, writing on X: ‘Criminals are now preying on desperate patients left with no options.
‘It’s another reason why we need real urgency and ambition from government on NHS dentistry.’
Dental access issues continue
This comes as new data shows that up to 97% of new patients who try to access NHS dental care are unsuccessful.
The Office for National Statistics Experiences of NHS healthcare services in England shows 96.9% of those who do not have a dentist and who tried to access NHS dental care were unsuccessful.
Of those who failed to secure care, 11% were recorded as going private, 1.6% reported going to A&E and 1.1% reported going to their GP. More than three quarters (78.5%) did nothing, with the BDA warning that it will only lead to greater burdens on the health service if early signs of disease are left unchecked.
Of those who tried to access NHS dentistry, but did not have a dentist, 33.5% reported having an urgent need for NHS care, with 21.3% stating they were in pain.
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