NHS Dentists
Tuesday, 20 October 2026
Contributions
David Reed (Exmouth and Exeter East) (Con)Conservative
8. What assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of access to NHS dentists.
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health and Social Care (Mr James Frith)Labour
This Government have been working to rebuild the NHS dental service since we came to office. The latest data shows that 37.6 million courses of dental treatment were delivered last year—nearly 3 million more than at the time of the general election.
Access to NHS dentistry is a major problem in my constituency, with 86% of the respondents to my dentistry survey being unable to access one. Some told me that they still travel back to their old NHS dentist after moving home and, in one case, someone took a trip of more than 130 miles because no local practice would take them as a patient. Unlike GP surgeries, NHS dentists have no catchment areas. Will the Minister please look at whether that is making it harder for local people to get an appointment?
The hon. Member raises an important point—that is a theme in the work I am doing. Last year, 81% of those who wanted to get an NHS dentist were able to, but I recognise that too often people have to have an existing relationship with an NHS dentist to access that. Since the general election, the Government’s effort to tackle dental deserts has seen us ringfence £4 billion for NHS dentistry. Huge amounts have been done, but there is even more to do, and he has the Government’s and my attention on this matter.
Alice Macdonald (Norwich North) (Lab/Co-op)Labour (Co-op)
Since being elected, I have campaigned for a new dental school in the east of England. I thank the Government for backing that at the University of East Anglia with 25 new funded places. However, Norfolk is still a dental desert where people struggle to get an appointment. I have just returned from maternity leave and I could not get one when I was pregnant, and I am not alone in that, pregnant or otherwise. Can the Minister set out what the Government will do to ensure that constituents can get a dental appointment, and give a timetable for the reform of the dentistry contract?
I thank my hon. Friend and welcome her back from maternity leave—what a time that is. I know that she has been campaigning relentlessly on the issue of dental schools, but also on addressing the dental deserts that we speak about so frequently. The east of England and south-east dental schools are incoming and will start to take on new students in September 2027. I look forward to their playing a part in strengthening dental provision locally.
Source: UK Parliament Hansard API. Debate ID: 5420663.