She highlighted the issue of children not accessing dental services, with 133,560 children in West Sussex, or 41%, not seeing a dentist last year. Alison noted that many local dentists are no longer taking NHS patients and expressed concern about DIY dentistry practices such as tooth extraction using pliers. She also mentioned the need for contract changes to encourage more dentists to work within the NHS.

She highlighted the difficulties her constituents face in accessing NHS dental care, citing specific cases of individuals unable to afford necessary treatments or facing reduced NHS provision. She emphasized that poor access affects patients' overall health and well-being, particularly for those dealing with serious illnesses like cancer. Griffiths also noted local progress in Bognor Regis with additional urgent appointments and new contracts but stressed the need for further improvements in routine access and prevention. Ms Griffiths intervened to request specific numbers relating to West Sussex and questioned the Minister about proposals to attract dentists to coastal constituencies as promised in their manifesto.

He praised his hon. Friend's speech and highlighted the issue of residents travelling long distances for NHS dental services, with some in Cornwall making a 500-mile round trip to Nottinghamshire. He pointed out that Cornwall had an underspend of £1.2 million this year which could have been invested in vital NHS dental services.

The hon. Member is making a powerful point for his constituents. In Northern Ireland, only 50% of adults are registered with NHS dentists and almost 400,000 registrations have been lost since 2023 due to financial unsustainability in practices. Lockhart intervened to emphasise the impact of cancer treatment on dental health, calling for specific Government measures to support cancer patients post-treatment with quick and efficient access to free dental care.

Mr Stafford highlighted the irony of addressing dental access issues for a second time in two days, emphasizing the scale of the problem. He noted that nearly 14 million people struggle to access care, with more than 70% of practices not accepting new NHS patients, including children. He criticized the outdated NHS dental contract from 2006 and called for a properly funded workforce plan.

He commended the hon. Lady for bringing forward the debate on the dental crisis, noting that it is not just an issue in West Sussex but across the United Kingdom, with 14 million people unable to find an NHS dentist. He recalled full-time NHS dental surgeries in community hospitals and suggested they should be re-established if adequately funded.

I thank my hon. Friend for shining a light on this important subject. Only about 40% of adults are effectively provided for within the current NHS dental budget, and without frontloaded investment, meaningful reform has no chance of success. The number of residents per dentist in West Sussex has increased by a fifth over five years.

Paul Girvan praised Jessica Brown-Fuller for her advocacy on NHS dentistry and pointed out that the situation is a result of past government failures. He highlighted the disparity between access to dental services in Chichester and London, noting that while 10 surgeries were accepting new patients within two miles in London, none accepted adult patients within a 12-mile radius in Chichester.