Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what immediate action is planned to address waiting times, in particular in Manchester, for children whose dental condition requires hospital admission and clearance of their deciduous teeth under general anaesthetic.

The Government is seeking to address waiting times by reducing the number of children requiring admissions for clearance of their deciduous teeth and action is being taken by local commissioners and public health departments.

For instance, Greater Manchester advises that it is working with consultants in dental public health, public health commissioning, and oral health improvement teams in local authorities to develop oral health strategies. They intend to target delivery of care to areas of identified need according to the “National Dental Epidemiology Programme for England, oral health survey of five-year-old children 2012.” A copy of the survey is attached.