VISITING the dentist is a trip many people do not want to make and it is becoming increasingly hard for patients who do in York.

A survey conducted by Healthwatch York found some residents are waiting more than two years to find an NHS dentist or are having to travel way outside the city to see one.

The group decided to look into the problems with dentistry after asking the public what they think should be investigated.

An overwhelming amount chose the issues surrounding signing up to an NHS dentist and Healthwatch York produced the results based on hundreds of replies to questions on the issue.

In January, the health watchdog found the city is one of 24 areas not taking on any NHS patients.

When their office received a phone call from a resident explaining they could not find a dentist, they checked the NHS Choices website and found the nearest dentist was in Wetherby - 14 miles away.

The problems were particularly bad for people moving to York, including students at the city’s two universities.

According to the report, City of York Council’s public health team looked into this and found students had very limited access to dental services, and some were “actively discouraged” from registering with a dentist.

A report compiled by the group stated: “Some people were frustrated at the lack of availability of NHS dentists in York: “We have now lived in area of York for over two years, we cannot find an NHS dentist anywhere!”

Other comments submitted to the group on the situation, included: “York’s lack of dental hospital and its having so few emergency dentists should be a concern to many.

“I ended up paying to travel outside of York to get an emergency appointment.”

Another respondent added: “Opening hours make it extremely difficult to access appointments,

“I work full time, and I have asked for an appointment at the end of the day, but was told it was a nine month wait.”

Some residents looking for an NHS dentist said they were “in desperate need” of seeing one, but they did not have the money to go privately.

Others cut down on visits, did not go as often as they should or missed essential follow-ups because they cannot afford it.

Families also raised concerns about the impact the lack of a dentist was having on their children’s dental health.

The report will be considered by City of York Council’s Health and Wellbeing Board at a meeting on Wednesday, where they will make recommendations to a number of NHS bodies and urge them to look at the problems residents have in York.