Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of the cost to the NHS of preventable conditions resulting from lack of access to oral health education and care.

No estimate is available of the costs to the National Health Service of preventable conditions resulting from lack of access to oral health education and care. The costs to the NHS of hospital admissions for decay-related tooth extractions, which are largely preventable, are estimated at £51.2 million in the financial year ending 2025. Further information is published at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/hospital-tooth-extractions-in-0-to-19-year-olds-2025

This is why the Government is shifting to prevention through a national, targeted supervised toothbrushing programme where every £1 spent is expected to save £3 in avoided treatment costs.