Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the ability of dental practices to de-register patients as a result of inactivity without giving notice to the patient.

Continuous registration with dental practices is no longer required and patients are only registered with a dental practice during the course of their treatment. This differs from registration with a general practitioner surgery, as dental practices are not bound to a catchment area. In circumstances where patients are unable to access an urgent dental appointment directly through a National Health Service dental practice, they should contact NHS 111 for assistance.