NHS Direct to Close - Bad News for Dental Health Care

We all know that good dental health is hugely important, but many people put-off visiting their dentists. This can often lead to minor tooth and gum problems getting significantly worse and more difficult (and expensive!) to treat. Unfortunately, the imminent closure of medical advice helpline provided by NHS Direct is likely to affect dental health most of all, according to a leading expert.
NHS Direct is an advice and information service provided by the NHS for residents and visitors of the UK. It is staffed by nurses and trained health advisors at 33 sites around the country, and takes around five million calls per year. However, due to high running costs the government has announced plans to phase out the service in favour of the new non-emergency NHS 111 number, which will employ fewer qualified nurses and will instead turn to non-specialist "call advisors" who have completed a 60-hour training programme.
The service regularly took more calls related to dentistry than any other area. Dr Nigel Carter, Chief Executive of the British Dental Health Association, has raised concerns about the standards of advice the new NHS 111 number will be able to offer, particularly regarding dental healthcare.
"NHS Direct was a quality service and an essential source of information for the public. Sadly, they have replaced it with a facility which will simply struggle to offer the same standard of assistance. Regrettably, it will be dental health that will suffer the most."