Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to improve access to NHS dental care for (a) children and (b) adults in deprived areas.

We are aware of the challenges faced in accessing a dentist. The responsibility for commissioning primary care services, including National Health Service dentistry, to meet the needs of the local population has been delegated to the integrated care boards (ICBs) across England.

The Government is committed to ensuring that people can access urgent dental care when they need it. Over the past year, ICBs have been commissioning additional urgent dental appointments and there is now an urgent care safety net available in all areas of the country. We are broadening the scope of the commitment to deliver additional appointments so that they can be used for more patients, not just those who meet the clinical criteria for “urgent” care.

1.8 million additional courses of NHS dental treatment have been delivered in the seven months between April 2025 to October 2025 compared to the corresponding months prior to the general election. Half of these additional treatments were delivered to children.

The 10-Year Health Plan confirms that child dental health is a priority and we are committed to delivering fundamental reform of the dental contract before the end of this Parliament. In the meantime, we are introducing changes to dental access that will benefit children.

From April 2026, we began introducing a package of reforms to address some of the pressing issues that dentists and dental teams have been experiencing. We have introduced a new course of treatment for fluoride varnish for children to be applied by suitably trained dental nurses in between regular check-ups. We have also increased remuneration for dentists for fissure sealants, an effective intervention for children aged seven years old and over, and young people up to 18 years old, to support increased use for primary prevention purposes. These reforms will put patients with greatest need first, incentivising urgent care and complex treatments.

Reducing rates of tooth decay is central to our commitment to help children to live healthier lives. Tooth decay is also almost entirely preventable. We are delivering the national targeted supervised toothbrushing programme for up to 600,000 three to five-year-olds in the most deprived areas.