Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many dentists delivered NHS care in each year since 2010 in each region of England.

The information requested on patient attendance at practices, which dental practices are currently accepting new patients and the funding of National Health Service dental services is not held in the format requested. Patients are registered with a practice for the duration of a course of treatment and can receive care from any practice with available appointments.

Data on the additional £50 million provided for NHS dental services in 2021/22 is not held in the format requested. However, there was expenditure of £629,148 in the South West region. Analysis of data on this additional funding shows that activity was targeted at lower income patients and those with urgent needs, although expenditure by local authority is not held centrally.

While regional data on the number of dentists delivering NHS care since 2011 is collected, this data shows information at the former strategic health authority level and does not show information by the current regional structure. The GP Patient Survey Dental Statistics from January and March 2022 shows that 78% of respondents rated their NHS dental experience as positive. The Dental Access Centre in Devon receives an average of 7,000 urgent dental calls a month or approximately 350 calls per day. No central assessment of the level of cases of people conducting their own dentistry procedures in England has been made.

In September, we announced ‘Our plan for patients’, which outlines how we will meet oral health needs and increase access to dental care, including in Plymouth, Sutton and Devonport.