Access to Primary Healthcare

Caroline Voaden Excerpts

Wednesday 16th October 2024 Commons Chamber

[Caroline Voaden (South Devon) (LD)]

I feel as if we are playing a game of Top Trumps with who has the worst dental services, but services in South Devon have been so badly neglected by the Conservative Government that we live in one of the worst dental deserts in the UK. NHS dentists in Totnes, Dartmouth, Brixham, Paignton and South Brent have closed, leaving thousands of my constituents, many suffering severe dental pain, with no choice but to pay extortionate private dentists for help.

One of my constituents said:

“My daughter is 18, a student at college, and I am on ESA. We lost our NHS dentist 2 years ago in Totnes. We took the decision to go on a basic payment plan that gives us one check-up and hygienist visit as I have gum disease. We can’t really afford it. On a visit to the dentist today we were hit with a £160 bill for a small filling that my daughter will need. I had to pay £80 upfront. This is our food money for the next 2 weeks gone, and will be the same again when she returns for her appointment in October. We will have to use the food banks to eat this month.”

Another told me she has a regular infection in her wisdom teeth that requires constant antibiotic treatment, and she has been told that it will cost £5,000 to remove them, or she will have to wait two more years for NHS treatment.

The state of dentistry in South Devon is absolutely shocking. There are currently no dentists taking on new NHS patients—not one—in a constituency of more than 300 square miles. It is shameful that there are not more Conservative Members on the Benches beside me to hear this. People in Devon and Cornwall are waiting 1,441 days on average just to register with a dentist. That is four years. The new Government have talked about the benefits and importance of preventive healthcare, and nowhere is that more clear than in dentistry. It is not just about filling cavities and giving someone a nice smile. We know there are links between gum disease and cancer. A poor oral microbiome can increase the risk of stomach and colorectal cancer.

We also know that visits to the dentist as a child increase the chance of a lifetime of good oral hygiene. Liberal Democrat research has shown that in the past five years, more than 100,000 children have been admitted to hospital with tooth decay. That is absolutely not what our hospitals need after 14 years of neglect from the Conservatives and with a system that is completely overwhelmed. The Government must immediately renegotiate the NHS dental contract. Has the Minister considered increasing the units of dental activity to stabilise dental practices immediately, before more of them go under? The Government must guarantee appointments for all those who need a dental check before commencing cancer treatment or chemotherapy, and they must support preventive dental healthcare. Preventive care will always be less costly than the extensive treatment required later in life if people do not get into good habits at a young age.