Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will produce a dental strategy to help tackle shortages in NHS dentists.

The Department and NHS England and NHS Improvement are developing proposals for dental system reform with stakeholders, such as the British Dental Association, to make National Health Service dentistry in England more attractive for dentists and their teams.

Health Education England’s Advancing Dental Care Review aims to tackle recruitment and retention challenges, attracting and retaining more dentists and dental care professionals in the NHS. These recommendations will be implemented through the Dental Education Reform Programme. The Department is also currently working with the General Dental Council on legislative proposals to allow greater flexibility to expand overseas registration routes open to international applicants.