Suffolk residents hit with fake NHS dentist appointment scam

The British Dental Association (BDA) has revealed patients are being conned out of hundreds of pounds with victims losing up to £319.10 to scammers.

This includes through fake websites offering NHS dental appointments secured through a pre-payment system.

Mark Jones, founder of Toothless in Suffolk, said: "It is clearly exploiting the situation.

"These scammers are exploiting in the fact that there are so few practices offering NHS treatment. The need that has come out with people being desperate for a dentist, it affects everybody and they are preying on that."

Mark Jones and Steve Marsling from Toothless in Suffolk (Image: Charlotte Bond) Mr Jones believes the scammers "do not care" who they are targeting. 

BDA chairman Eddie Crouch has called for urgency from the Government. 

In the run up to July’s general election, Labour made a manifesto commitment to create 700,000 new urgent and emergency dental appointments.

“Criminals are now preying on desperate patients left with no options,” Mr Crouch said.

“We need real urgency and ambition from Labour on NHS dentistry. Fraudsters will keep seeing real opportunities as long as the new Government’s promises remain unkept.”

Mark Jones, founder of Toothless in Suffok (Image: Charlotte Bond)

Mr Jones has joined the call by the BDA and is continuing to press the government for action.

"If the government pulled its finger out and delivered on its promises in the manifesto, perhaps these scammers would not see this as an opportunity to scam people," he continued. 

"We live in a time where they do not care who they are. It is always the vulnerable, it is always the needy and those that are in absolute desperate need of a dentist.

"They know how important it is to maintain oral health. They know they need to be seen by a dentist and how important it is, but when those services are not available in their locality and they see an opportunity to be seen by someone local they jump at the chance, and this is what scammers are preying on."

The NHS Suffolk and North East Essex Integrated Care Board is warning people not to be taken in by the posts (Image: Newsquest)

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The NHS Suffolk and North East Essex Integrated Care Board (SNEE ICB) is warning people not to be taken in by social media posts about fake NHS dental services.

Professor Nick Barker, clinical lead for dentistry at the SNEE ICB, said: “This is a totally wicked scam targeting vulnerable people. It’s a complete abuse of their trust.

“Please remember that no one needs to register with a dental surgery in the same way they do with a GP practice.

“They can go to any dental surgery which is open to NHS patients. A real NHS dental surgery will never cold call you or email you to encourage you to register.

“You should never pay a so-called ‘registration fee’ or for any treatment up front unless you have already been assessed by the dentist and had any costs explained to you in person.”