Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether the Government has a maximum distance it considers appropriate for patients to travel for dental care; what data he holds on waiting times for patients in Devon for NHS dental care; and what assessment he has made of the potential merits of reimbursing the cost of urgent dental treatment undertaken privately in circumstances where no local NHS dentists are available.

There are no geographical restrictions on which practice a patient may attend, including urgent dental centres (UDCs). This enables patients wider choice when seeking a new dentist or choosing to stay with a familiar practice. No maximum travel distance is therefore defined.

Data is not held on waiting times in Devon and no specific assessment has been made, as the provision of urgent care has now returned to pre-pandemic levels. Patients can access care from any high street National Health Service dental practice accepting patients or via NHS 111. Over 700 UDCs continue to support the provision of urgent dental care, where a patient does not have or cannot access a dentist.