Revealed: 80% of NHS dentists have shut their door to new patients, according ... trends now

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Eight in 10 dentists in England are not accepting new adult patients, a shocking analysis suggests.

Of the 4,969 dental surgeries across the country who have recently updated their status, 82 per cent are not adding new over-18s to their list.

Another 71 per cent aren't taking new children, NHS data shows.

But the figures are even bleaker in some parts of the country, with 99 per cent of practices in the South West seemingly rejecting requests from adults seeking NHS dental care.

MailOnline's handy interactive tool lets you input your postcode to check the status of dentists in your area.

The collapse of NHS dentistry has seen millions miss vital checkups.

Some have resorted to queuing overnight for a place with a practice or resorting to DIY dentistry. 

Labour, which analysed the data, said that it would ramp-up funding to NHS dental practices, providing hundreds of thousands more appointments and incentives for dentists to works in the parts of the country with the greatest need.

The data shows that there are 6,605 dental practices in England.

Of these, 4,969 have provided recent responses to the NHS regarding their patient list status.

Behind the South West, the situation is also dire in North East, where just 97 per cent of practices are open to taking new adult patients, followed by the East Midlands (94 per cent) and East of England (91 per cent).

Meanwhile, it is easiest in London, where six in 10 clinics are accepting, followed by the West Midlands (73 per cent) and the North West (77 per cent).