Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps the Government is taking to improve dental health in the UK.

In England, local authorities are responsible for assessing the oral health needs, developing oral health strategies and commissioning oral health improvement programmes for children and adults. The Department provides resources to local authorities to support the assessment and improvement of oral health in children and vulnerable older people.

We recently announced that we will consult on the expansion of water fluoridation in the North East to a further 1.6 million people to reduce the incidence of tooth decay. We are also implementing measures to reduce sugar consumption in England, such as the sugar levy. In July 2022, we announced improvements to the National Health Service dental system to improve access and target care for patients with higher oral health needs. The Office for Health Improvement and Disparities has published ‘Delivering Better Oral Health - an evidence-based toolkit for prevention’ for dental teams to support preventive advice and treatment for patients.