Veterans looking to find a dentist through Department of Veterans Affairs health clinics waited nearly two months for a first appointment, according to new figures provided by the VA to Task & Purpose. That delay is about three times as long as the typical time a returning patient can expect to get dental care in the VA system.
Established patients, who accounted for more than 90% of VA dental appointments, wait an average of 14 days, VA officials told Task & Purpose, compared with an average wait of 51 days for new patients.
VA calculates the 14-day average wait for established patients from the date the veteran and provider agree that follow-up care is appropriate to when care was delivered.
New patients often had initial appointments that were more involved, Quinn Slaven, a VA spokesperson, explained.
Source: New VA dental patients face waits of nearly 2 months for appointments / Task & Purpose