In his latest column, High Peak MP Robert Largan discusses concerns raised by local residents about registering with an NHS dentist and getting a dental appointment.

Last week in Parliament, I got the chance to speak on several different topics including drug-related crime, mental health, digital radio in rural areas, the ongoing grit bin dispute between High Peak Borough Council and Derbyshire County Council, and finally on NHS dentistry. 

When I’m out and about knocking on doors across High Peak, concerns about access to dental care comes up very regularly. 

We are lucky to have some excellent dentists locally and I want to thank all the dentists, orthodontists, hygienists, and technicians who have worked incredibly hard in dental practices over the past two years through the pandemic. 

Nevertheless, many local people are struggling to get a dental appointment, or even register with an NHS dentist. I have experienced this first-hand, finding it very difficult to register with an NHS dentist near my home in Glossop. 

A recent response to a freedom of information request by the British Dental Association indicated that 70% of appointments, or 28 million courses of treatment, have been missed in England since the start of the pandemic. Making up that backlog is essential. 

The Government are putting in an additional £50 million investment in NHS dentistry, including nearly £9 million for our region, to help patients access dental treatment and to catch up on that backlog. But beyond the short term, more action is needed to improve access to dental care. 

Part of the problem is that there are simply not enough dentists. We need a serious drive to improve both the recruitment and the retention of dentists. The Government are sensibly setting up new centres of dental development to train more dentists, focused on areas where there are shortages. But we should also look again at the recognition of overseas dental qualifications, to allow high quality dentists from other countries to come to the UK and help increase capacity. 

I know that many dentists also have serious concerns about the NHS contracts drawn up by the last Labour Government. Under the terms of these contracts, there is little incentive to take on new NHS patients. This urgently needs fixing. 

Finally, there needs to be a much greater focus on preventive healthcare, and dentistry should be at the frontline of that effort. Dentistry is too often largely divorced from the rest of the NHS. For this reason, I have called for NHS dentists to be properly represented in the governance of the new integrated care systems, so that we can have a more thoughtful, joined-up approach to public health. 

Another preventative step would involve the fluoridation of the UK’s water supplies – a safe and effective measure which has been shown to significantly reduce tooth decay over several decades. 

I will keep pushing for swift, decisive action to improve access to dental care.

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