Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department are taking to address the dental appointment backlog.

In July 2022, we announced improvements to the National Health Service dental system to improve access for patients and address backlogs in dental care. This included guidance on the frequency for patients attending check-ups.

An additional £50 million was made available for NHS dentistry in the final quarter of 2021/22 to allow more patients access to dental care and reduce backlogs. The available appointments were targeted at those most in need of urgent dental treatment, vulnerable groups and children.