BBC Newsround｜为什么预约牙医这么难

We all know that regular trips to the dentist are an important part of looking after our teeth.
我们都知道，定期去看牙医是保护牙齿的重要组成部分。
At the moment, there aren't enough dentists who can treat children for free on the NHS.
目前，没有足够的牙医可以在NHS上免费治疗儿童。
That means some children are going months or even years without their teeth being checked.
这意味着有些孩子几个月甚至几年都没有检查他们的牙齿。

A new survey has found that depending on where you live, anywhere between 12 and 42% of children could have signs of tooth decay.
一项新的调查发现，根据居住地的不同，12%到 42%的儿童可能有蛀牙迹象。

Okay, hands up if you've been to the dentist this year.
好的，如果你今年看过牙医，请举手。
And last year?
去年呢？
Have your parents ever struggled to get you a dentist appointment?
您的父母是否曾为让您预约牙医而费尽心思？
Yes, my mum has found it very difficult to find me a dentist appointment because it's usually very busy.
是的，我妈妈发现给我预约牙医非常困难，因为通常都很忙。
Is there anything you'd like to see change about dentists?
您希望看到牙医有什么改变吗?
I would like the government to put more dentist shops around the streets so people wont be waiting in line for a long period of time.
我希望政府在街道上开设更多的牙医店，这样人们就不会长时间排队等候。
While these kids have been able to see a dentist, many families are struggling to get appointments on the NHS.
虽然这些孩子已经能够去看牙医，但许多家庭却很难在国民医疗服务体系(NHS)上预药。
This is John Mill, the president of the British Dental Association, who look after dentists across the country.
我是约翰·米尔，英国牙科协会主席，负责照顾全国各地的牙医。
Some new research has come out that says that in some parts of the country, levels of tooth decay in children are up to 42%, which is almost half.
一些新的研究表明，在该国的一些地区，儿童蛀牙的比例高达42%，几乎是一半。
So that's really high.
所以这确实很高。
How has that happened?
这是怎么发生的?
It is sad, and it's also really sad in the modern society that we live in, that so many children are getting tooth decay.
令人悲伤的是，在我们生活的现代社会中，如此多的孩子正在蛀牙，这也是非常令人悲伤的。
But the answer is that there's more tooth decay in places where communities are poor, where there's less money, where the cost of living crisis is beginning to bite.
但答案是，在社区贫困、钱少、生活成本危机开始蔓延的地方，蛀牙现象更多。
It can be really difficult to get a dentist appointment.
预约牙医真的很困难。

I'm afraid the key reason is that the NHS in particular only funds the provision of dental care, NHS dental care, for about half the population and it's been like that for many, many years.
恐怕关键原因是 NHS 只为大约一半人口提供牙科护理、NHS 牙科护理提供资金，而且这种情况已经很多很多年了。
Can you just imagine how it would be if only 50% of the population could see a doctor when you needed to?
您能想象一下，如果只有 50%的人口可以在您需要时去看医生，那会怎样？
We simply don't fund enough dentists to do the job.
我们根本没有资助足够的牙医来完成这项工作。
To find out more, I've come to meet Andrea Ledsom.
为了了解更多信息，我来见安德里亚·莱德索姆(Andrea Ledsom)。
She's the minister in charge of public health, including teeth, for England.
她是英格兰负责公共卫生（包括牙齿）的部长。
So last year, only half of children in England saw an NHS dentist.
因此，去年，英国只有一半的儿童去看了国民保健服务(NHS)牙医。

Absolutely not good enough.
绝对不够好。
So what we're doing is we're announcing some extra ways to get more dentists to see children so that they can actually go and get a check-up.
因此，我们正在做的是宣布一些额外的方法，让更多的牙医去看孩子，这样他们就可以真正去做检查。
So what's the actual cause of this problem?
那么造成这个问题的真正原因是什么呢？
Because the number of children going to the dentist has been dropping for a long time.
因为去看牙医的儿童数量长期以来一直在下降。
What's behind it?
背后是什么？
Well, what's essential is that mums and dads take their children to the dentist, number one.
嗯，最重要的是爸爸妈妈带孩子去看牙医，这是第一。
Number two, there's got to be enough dentists for parents to take their children to see.
第二，必须有足够的牙医，供父母带孩子去看牙医。
And that has been a problem.
这一直是个问题。
Both of those things have been an issue for a long, long time.
这两件事长期以来一直是一个问题。
There's going to be extra money available for every dentist who sees a patient under the NHS who's not been able to get a dentist for the last two years and that's going to provide two and a half million more appointments which is really good news.
对于过去两年无法在 NHS 下看牙医的患者，每一位牙医都会获得额外的资金，这将提供额外的 250 万个预约，这确实是个好消息。
We're also increasing the work that dental therapists can do so that they'll be able to support dentists by going into family hubs and into nurseries and into schools.
我们还增加了牙科治疗师可以做的工作，以便他们能够通过进入家庭中心、托儿所和学校来支持牙医。
So speaking of check-ups and dentists, can you say that every child who wants a free NHS check-up will get one?
所以说到检查和牙医，你能说每个想要免费NHS检查的孩子都会得到一个吗？
That's what we're working towards.
这就是我们正在努力的方向。
We want everybody who needs an NHS dentist to be able to get one.
我们希望每个需要 NHS 牙医的人都能得到一位牙医。
And whether it's a dentist or a dental therapist doing the check-up and teaching you how to brush your teeth well etc, these will all help to get children to have much better oral health as we call it, which basically means no toothache and a lovely smile for life.
而且无论是牙医还是牙科治疗师做检查、教你如何好好刷牙等等，这些都将有助于让孩子拥有更好的口腔健康，我们称之为口腔健康，这基本上意味着没有牙痛，也没有牙痛。一生可爱的微笑。
If you're worried about your teeth and don't have a dentist, both John and Andrea suggest you ask your parent or guardian to ring NHS 111 for advice.
如果您担心自己的牙齿并且没有牙医，约翰和安德里亚都建议您让您的父母或监护人。

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