Rebuilding our broken dentistry system is a priority for this Government. We are already rolling out 700,000 extra urgent dental appointments a year, as promised in our manifesto; we have launched a supervised toothbrushing scheme for three to five-year-olds; and we are committed to reforming the dental contract and making NHS dentistry fit for the future in the long term.
In Kettering, we know the scale of the challenge facing NHS dentistry after 14 years of Tory failure. My constituents regularly tell me how impossible it is to get an appointment. Some are driving tens of miles to see a dentist, and it is simply a scandal how many children are admitted to hospital with tooth decay. While it cannot be rebuilt overnight, in Kettering we welcome the extra 17,000 urgent appointments, which are a vital first step. Can the Minister confirm that it is this Government who will make NHS dentistry fit for the future?
My hon. Friend is absolutely right. After 14 years of Tory neglect and incompetence, far too many people are still struggling to find an NHS appointment. This Government are tackling the challenges for patients trying to access NHS dental care by delivering 700,000 more urgent dental appointments a year and by recruiting new dentists to areas that need them. My hon. Friend’s local integrated care board has been asked to deliver nearly 17,000 of the additional urgent appointments. I am in no doubt that she will continue to campaign tirelessly on behalf of her constituents.
My constituent, Kevin Buckley, had his NHS dentist shut with no notice. NHS dentists in Knowsley are not taking on any new patients and he is stuck. This is not just a local issue, but a national crisis. What action will the Minister take to address the shortage of NHS dentists?
I am sorry to hear of the difficulties faced by Mr Buckley. Sadly, that is a challenge we face nationally after 14 years of abject failure from those now on the Opposition Benches. There are no quick fixes or easy answers, but we are committed to reforming the contract and helping those who need it most. My hon. Friend’s local ICB has been asked to deliver more than 46,000 additional urgent care appointments from April onwards, getting care to those constituents who need it most. The north-west has also been allocated 21 posts in the golden hello scheme to recruit dentists into underserved areas.
More than one in three five-year-olds in Stoke-on-Trent has tooth decay. That is the worst rate in the west midlands and is 10% above the national average. Children in deprived areas, like much of my constituency of Stoke-on-Trent North and Kidsgrove, are twice as likely to suffer, and that is not acceptable. Can the Minister please outline what steps the Government will take to reduce regional inequalities in NHS dental access for children?
It is shameful that tooth decay is the biggest reason for hospital admissions of children aged between five and nine, and the inequalities surrounding that are stark. On 7 March, we confirmed a £11.4 million investment in supervised toothbrushing for three to-five-year-olds. The scheme is targeted at children in the most deprived areas—those in index of multiple deprivation groups 1 and 2—and will reach up to 600,000 children. Our innovative partnership with Colgate-Palmolive will result in the donation of more than 23 million toothbrushes and toothpastes, providing outstanding value for taxpayers’ money.
Aldershot and Farnborough are dental deserts. My constituent Nick had an infected wisdom tooth and was in agony. He had been registered with a practice in Farnborough, but it kicked him off its patient list. He obtained an emergency appointment through 111, but two weeks later the infection was back. He was left with little choice but to go private, which cost him £700—10 times what the treatment would have cost on the NHS. Can the Minister explain how Labour’s plan for change will help to prevent such cases from being repeated as we end the 14 years of dentistry failure that we saw under the Conservatives?
My hon. Friend has demonstrated again that she is a tireless campaigner for the people of Aldershot, and I am sorry to hear of the challenges faced by her constituents. This Government will deliver 700,000 more urgent dental appointments a year, and will recruit new dentists to the areas that need them most. My hon. Friend’s local ICB has been asked to deliver nearly 7,000 of those additional urgent care appointments in the year from April. In the long term, we will reform the dental contract with the sector, with a shift to focusing on prevention and improving the retention of NHS dentists.
The Secretary of State and Ministers’ commitment to 700,000 more emergency dental appointments is already taking effect in my NHS area, with an extra 27,000 slots, and the feedback is excellent. However, constituents have told me that some dentists seem to be removing non-emergency patients from their lists. Can the Minister please reassure them that their NHS dentists will be there when they need them?
As my hon. Friend says, we are delivering 700,000 additional urgent appointments. Patients are not limited to a registered practice in England, and practices are required to keep their status up to date on the NHS website. Anyone struggling to find a dentist should go to nhs.uk or call 111. It is also clear that while NHS England is not mandating an approach to the purchasing of these additional appointments, ICBs could consider either buying more appointments through new or recommissioned contracts or modifying existing contracts, and/or using flexible commissioning.
The Minister is aware of my concern about the inability of some 200 fully qualified Ukrainian dentists to practise because of the restrictions placed on them by the General Dental Council. I know that the Minister has written to the GDC about this, but has he received a reply?
I thank the right hon. Gentleman for the constructive meeting and discussion that we had on this matter. As he will know, we are exploring the use of provisional registration for overseas dentists, and we are urging the GDC to arrange more examinations for dentists. I have a meeting set up in short order with the head of the GDC, and I will keep the right hon. Gentleman posted on that conversation.