Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps are being taken to improve access to NHS dental care for children in deprived and rural areas.

We are aware of the challenges faced in accessing a dentist, particularly in more rural areas.

The 10-Year Health Plan confirms that child dental health is a priority. We are introducing changes to dental access that will benefit children. Following public consultation, from April 2026 we will introduce a new course of treatment for fluoride varnish for children to be applied by suitably trained dental nurses in between regular check-ups. We will also increase remuneration for dentists for fissure sealants, to support increased use of this effective treatment for primary prevention purposes. These reforms will put patients with the greatest need first, incentivising urgent care and complex treatments.

The Government is committed to ensuring people can access urgent dental care when they need it. Over the past year, integrated care boards have been commissioning additional urgent dental appointments and there is now an urgent care safety net available in all areas of the country. 1.8 million additional courses of National Health Service dental treatment were delivered between April and October 2025, compared to the corresponding months before the general election. Half of these additional treatments were delivered to children.

In 2025/26, we invested £11 million in 147 local authorities and in 2026/27, we will be investing a further £10.5 million, as part of a multi-year settlement, in 151 local authorities to continue to implement the national targeted supervised toothbrushing programme for three- to five-year-olds. This is alongside the innovative partnership with Colgate-Palmolive. The aim is to reach up to 600,000 children targeted in the 20% most deprived areas of England to reduce inequalities.

The Government is committed to achieving fundamental contract reform by the end of this Parliament.