Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps is he taking to help ensure that people who need of NHS dental treatment have timely access to it.

National Health Service dental practices are currently prioritising urgent care, vulnerable groups and children, followed by delayed planned care. We have made an additional £50 million available for NHS dentistry for the remainder of the 2021/22 financial year to provide access to appointments for dental care. Patients can also contact NHS England’s Customer Contact Centre or NHS 111 for urgent dental care.

Current work on dental system reform and improving training for dentistry professionals will also aim to improve access for patients.