House of Commons – Jan. 9, 2024 – 34

Question put (Standing Order No. 31(2)), That the original words stand part of the Question. Amendment: I beg to move an amendment, to leave out from “House” to the end of the Question and add: “recognises the impact of a once-in-a-generation pandemic on NHS dental services, with 7 million fewer patients seen in England across 2020 and 2021;

notes these challenges were reflected in both Scotland and Wales;

acknowledges the steps already taken to recover services in England including the introduction of a minimum rate and increased payments for complex dental activity to better reward dentists for their work;

welcomes the publication of the Long Term Workforce Plan which committed to expanding dental training places by 40 per cent;

and supports the upcoming publication of the Government’s plan to further recover and reform NHS dentistry and promote good oral health throughout life.” Original words: I beg to move, That this House recognises that NHS dentistry is in crisis, with eight in 10 dentists in England not taking on new NHS patients and vast parts of the country considered so-called dental deserts, where no dentists are available;

regrets that this has led to people resorting to DIY dentistry or attending A&E to access urgent care;

is concerned that tooth decay is the most common reason children aged six to 10 are admitted to hospital;

and therefore calls on the Government to provide an extra 700,000 urgent appointments a year, introduce an incentive scheme to recruit new dentists to the areas most in need and a targeted supervised toothbrushing scheme for three to five year-olds to promote good oral health and reform the dental contract to rebuild the service in the long-run.