Dentaid on BBC Radio 4’s Inside Health

The work of a partnership between NHS Hampshire and Isle of Wight and Dentaid The Dental Charity has been highlighted as part of a BBC Radio 4 programme.

The team from Inside Health visited an ICB clinic in Somerstown in Portsmouth in January to learn more about how the initiative helps to support those in need of dental care and allows the health service to work alongside charities in meeting demand for dental treatment.

While there, Inside Health’s presenter, BBC health correspondent James Gallagher spoke to  Dentaid’s CEO Andy Evans and James Roach, director of primary and local care at NHS Hampshire and Isle of Wight, along with patients who have received care through the ICB project.

The ICB scheme, which launched in February 2024, aims to increase access to dental care for Hampshire and Isle of Wight residents who haven’t been able to access dental care and are exempt from NHS charges.

Those eligible for the scheme include families experiencing poverty and social deprivation, people experiencing or at risk of homelessness, looked-after children, people supported by our partner charities, and people referred to us by our partner organisations.

Dentaid’s mobile dental surgeries on wheels have been used to provide dental treatments and oral health programmes at foodbanks, places of worship, community centres and public buildings across Hampshire and the Isle of Wight. Most clinics have taken place in Southampton, Portsmouth and the surrounding towns of Fareham, Gosport, Cosham and Havant, and on the Isle of Wight at Cowes, Freshwater, Newport and Ryde. In the past year services have expanded to more northern areas of the county, including Andover, Basingstoke and Bordon, and to the New Forest.

More than 21,000 patients attended outreach services on our mobile dental units last year,  wth dental professionals offering thousands of treatments including extractions, fillings, scale and polishes and teeth varnishing, along with oral health advice and support with dentures.

You can listen to the piece in full here: