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 adequacy of access to NHS dentistry for (a) children and (b) adults in Waveney Valley constituency; and what discussions he has had with stakeholders on the potential impact of publishing a timeframe to reform the dental contract on retention of NHS dentists.

Dental Statistics - England 2023-24, published by the NHS Business Services Authority on 22 August 2024, is available at the following link:

https://www.nhsbsa.nhs.uk/statistical-collections/dental-england/dental-statistics-england-202324

The data for the NHS Norfolk and Waveney Integrated Care Board, which includes the Waveney Valley constituency, shows that 36% of adults were seen by a National Health Service dentist in the previous 12 months, compared to 40% in England, and that 48% of children were seen by an NHS dentist in the previous 24 months, compared to 56% in England.

To rebuild dentistry in the long term and increase access to NHS dental care, the Government will reform the dental contract, with a shift to focus on prevention and the retention of NHS dentists. We are continuing to work with the British Dental Association and other representatives of the dental sector to deliver our shared ambition to improve access to treatments for NHS dental patients.