Mr Mangnall highlighted the urgent need to address dental care issues in rural and coastal communities, mentioning that dentists are not taking on new patients, leading to significant pain for constituents. He raised concerns about the lack of access to urgent dental care centres and insufficient funding allocated to the south-west region. Mr Mangnall also questioned the steps being taken to encourage international medical students to train and work in the NHS. Mr Mangnall intervened to question Labour's performance in Wales regarding dental practices, noting the decline of practices and lack of system addressing. The Minister should expedite a roundtable meeting based on significant data highlighting worst affected areas, as mentioned by Members for Ashford and South Holland and The Deepings.

The situation in Kent regarding access to NHS dentistry is equally bad, particularly in Ashford where it is almost impossible to find an NHS dentist. There has been a lack of response from both the clinical commissioning group and NHS England.

He agreed with the hon. Friend that there are substantial challenges with access to NHS dentistry in Suffolk, partly due to poor contract monitoring by local commissioners. He urged the Minister to put pressure on these commissioners and ensure dentists provide the services they are commissioned for. He agreed with Scott Benton on the difficulties patients face in accessing NHS dentistry across Suffolk, noting that while emergency out-of-hours dentistry is available, some companies are not fulfilling their contractual obligations. Clarifies whether the new dental contract is temporary or long-term. Expresses concern about ICSs taking over CCG roles and asks for personal assurance that commissioners will be held accountable to deliver proper dental services.

Feryal Clark criticised the Conservative Government for its failure to improve NHS dentistry access, highlighting that half of all children in England have no access to an NHS dentist and 78 children under 11 go to A&E daily. She also pointed out a significant drop in patients seen by NHS dentists and questioned the effectiveness of £50 million funding allocated for the issue.

Although this debate is about England, Jim Shannon highlighted that similar issues exist in Northern Ireland. He questioned whether dental care should be restricted to those who can afford it and stressed the impact on people living on low incomes.

Greater Lincolnshire has three of the four worst dental deserts in the United Kingdom, with only 38 dentists per 100,000 people. He highlighted that finding a dentist in Lincolnshire is extremely difficult. Mr Hayes argued that the least well-off people suffer most due to expensive dental plans, advocating for training more home-grown dentists to attract them to work in the NHS rather than going private.

He noted the crisis in NHS dentistry with long waiting times, pregnant women unable to access free dental care, and children admitted to hospital due to rotting teeth. He highlighted outdated contractual issues and lack of funding for dentistry since 2010. Paul Blomfield pressed the Minister on whether the offer made to the British Dental Association addresses flaws in the current contract, particularly concerning financial clawback which affects 57% of dentists facing penalties in the last quarter.

Access to NHS dentistry remains a significant issue across England, with procurement processes often opaque and failing local residents. Mr Aldous cited specific cases of poor contract awards and profiteering in the Waveney area. He raised concerns about tender documents being complex and discouraging local NHS dentists from bidding for contracts. There is ambiguity about the status of negotiations with the BDA. My hon. Friend needs to clarify whether a letter has been sent to start the negotiation process or if there are finalised heads of terms for an announcement on a new contract.

Mr Gibson reported receiving 26 constituent inquiries about NHS dental access since the start of the year. He highlighted that the number of dentists providing NHS services in his area has remained constant for over a decade, despite increased demand due to pandemic-related restrictions. The speaker criticised the current dental contract system as financially unviable for extensive work and suggested reforms focusing on prevention and education. Mr Gibson welcomed Government funding but argued it was insufficient to address the backlog.

The NHS dentistry crisis is worsening, with York experiencing a significant drop in dental appointments and an increase in oral health issues among children. Since the start of the pandemic, 43 million dental appointments have been lost, including 30 million for children. The number of UDAs (units of dental activity) delivered has decreased despite increasing demand. Many dentists are leaving NHS services for private practices or early retirement due to stress and abuse from frustrated patients. Dentists waiting to work in the UK need accelerated legislation, and refugees with dental skills should be fast-tracked to practice. Training more dentists requires investment, especially through partnerships like Hull York Medical School. Inquires about the timescale and progress on establishing York as a centre of dental development. Also seeks information regarding Ukrainian refugees.

He highlighted the difficulties constituents face in securing NHS dentistry, citing a case of Kayleigh who was unable to find an NHS dentist and estimated that at least one in five adults in Blackpool lack access. He noted that while the number of registered dentists is high, many are opting for private practice due to recruitment challenges and low morale among dentists providing NHS care.