A fear of the dental drill used to keep U.K. citizens away from the dental chair, but today it is more than twice as likely to be the cost of dental care that's holding them back, according to a survey from Tesco Dental Insurance.
Over a third (35%) of those surveyed had not visited the dentist in more than 18 months, and one in 10 had not been for more than five years. Just 13% admitted to staying away for fear of the drill.
However, for almost a third, being without dental insurance means the high cost of treatment stops them from visiting the dentist. For another third (34%), it's that they have not registered with a local dentist.
The survey of U.K. oral health habits was conducted online May 18-20, 2010, by 72 Point on behalf of Tesco. Total sample size was 3,000 adults (age 18 and older) across 30 cities in the U.K.
The survey also revealed that a lack of available National Health Service (NHS) treatment is causing people to travel further for their dental treatment. So highly valued is NHS treatment that, on average, a U.K. adult would travel 9 miles to secure a place with an NHS dentist, according to Tesco.
"Far from being a nation of 'dentophobes,' the research actually suggests we are prepared to go the extra mile, or even 10, in order to receive affordable dental care," said Jonathon Daniels, head of Tesco Dental Insurance.
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