Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he will take to ensure that the new NHS dental contract will not have a negative effect on trends in the levels of dentists.

NHS England negotiated amendments to the National Health Service dental contract with the British Dental Association and other stakeholders, which are supported by the sector. Improvements came into effect in November 2022, which will ensure dentists are more fairly remunerated for NHS care delivered, make NHS dentistry a more attractive place to work and improve access for patients. In addition, dentists have supported the use of dental care professionals to diversify the skills available in the dental team. NHS England is holding further discussions involving the British Dental Association and other stakeholders and additional reforms are planned next year.