Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department plans to take to ensure the dental workforce is equipped and supported to deliver (a) fluoride varnish and (b) other preventive interventions within neighbourhood health settings.

Our Neighbourhood Health Service will provide opportunities for dental care professionals to work as part of neighbourhood teams. We have consulted on changes to improve access to, and the quality of, National Health Service dentistry. To support practices to make better use of the skill mix of their team and to improve delivery of fluoride varnish, we have proposed introducing a new course of treatment for children for fluoride varnish to be applied by suitably trained dental nurses. Public consultation closed on 19 August, and the Government will publish a response shortly.

We have also published guidance on how dental health professionals can improve the oral and general health of their patients, including fluoride varnish and other preventative interventions. This is available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/delivering-better-oral-health-an-evidence-based-toolkit-for-prevention