Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to improve access to NHS dental care for (a) pregnant women and (b) women in the postnatal period.

We are aware of the challenges faced in accessing a dentist and we want to make sure that everyone who needs a National Health Service dentist can get one, including pregnant women and new mothers. The Government plans to tackle the challenges for patients trying to access NHS dental care with a rescue plan to provide 700,000 more urgent dental appointments and recruit new dentists to the areas that need them most.

Pregnant women and women who have had a baby in the last 12 months are eligible for free NHS dental treatment. Further information is available at the following link:

https://www.nhs.uk/nhs-services/dentists/get-help-with-dental-costs/

The responsibility for commissioning primary care services, including NHS dentistry, to meet the needs of the local population has been delegated to the integrated care boards (ICBs) across England. For the Hazel Grove constituency, this is NHS Greater Manchester ICB.