NHS Dentists

Many of my constituents have told me about their ongoing challenges in accessing an NHS dentist.

I share their concerns and want to update you on the significant steps this Government is taking to rebuild our broken NHS dental care system.

The scale of the challenge we have inherited cannot be understated. This Government has taken on a dental care sector in a terrible state, broken by years of neglect.

At the end of last year, there were 13 million people with an unmet need for dentistry, with rotting teeth being the most common reason for children aged between five and nine being admitted to hospital.

However, I am pleased to report that real progress is being made.

The Government has delivered on its pledge to provide an extra 700,000 urgent dental appointments per year, which became available from April this year, with the aim of providing immediate relief.

These appointments are specifically targeted in areas like South Dorset, where patients particularly struggle to access NHS dentistry and providing care for painful dental issues such as infections, abscesses and damaged teeth.

There is now a new financial incentive scheme in place to help attract dentists to areas such as ours to help dental practices that struggle to recruit through general channels. A payment of £20,000 per dentist is being offered for up to 240 dentists, with those recruited committing to remain in the same area for a minimum of three years. This will encourage skilled dentists to relocate to areas with workforce challenges like South Dorset.

There is also recognition that we must protect our children’s health and that we have inherited a children’s oral health crisis.

I am proud to support the Labour Government’s supervised toothbrushing scheme which will reach up to 600,000 children a year, including those in the most deprived areas. Through a groundbreaking partnership with Colgate, more than 23 million toothbrushes and toothpastes will be donated to support this vital programme.

Most importantly, the Government recognises that the dental contract is fundamentally flawed and needs reform. The Department of Health is working directly with the British Dental Association and other stakeholders to develop a dental contract that works for patients, professionals, and our public finances.

I share the Government’s ambition that everyone who needs an NHS dentist should be able to get one. But I appreciate that progress here is gradual – and far too many people here in South Dorset are unable to access an NHS dentist right now.

I will continue to press for vital improvements from the Government and work with MPs across Dorset to ensure we deliver more NHS dentist appointments here on our doorstep.  I will keep pressing on this issue at every opportunity.  

I know how frustrating it is!