Britons are risking their dental health because they can not afford the money or time off work to visit a dentist, research finds.
According to Simplyhealth's Annual Dental Survey, around half the population is avoiding dental check ups for financial reasons.
When asked what prevented people going to the dentist more frequently, 44% said they could not afford it, while 21% added that they had left it a while and were worried about the high cost of treatment.
While cost fears and problems in locating NHS dentists are common, it is more concerning for employers that a significant minority (9%) said they could not get time off work to go for check-ups.
Cost restraints were most concerning for those in the south east (51% said could not afford it) but dropped to a third (34%) in Scotland.
The survey of 11,785 adults also asked about some of the key concerns of the Office of Fair Trading which is currently conducting a review of the dental market, including clarity of information about treatment prices provided by dentists.
It found that only a third (35%) of respondents noticed that prices were explained by a dentist or staff or clearly displayed in the practice.
Half (48%) said they had never noticed this.
And this finding was echoed by only a quarter (27%) saying that at every check up they were provided with a written plan with charges for any treatment required.
The report suggests that this may explain why so many people do not believe visiting the dentist is good value for money.
