Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many dentists left NHS dental practices in the South West; and what proportion of those vacancies were filled through recruitment of new staff in each years since 2010.

Data on vacancies filled through recruitment is not held centrally, as practices manage staffing requirements to meet National Health Service dental contracts. This may include moving dentists between NHS and other work throughout and between years.

Data on dentists who commenced and ceased delivering NHS provision in the South West from 2010/11 to 2011/12 and 2012/13 to 2021/22 is shown in the attached tables.