Dental Services: Dunstable and Leighton Buzzard
The question
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of NHS dental provision in Dunstable and Leighton Buzzard constituency.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock
From 1 April 2023, the responsibility for commissioning primary care dentistry to meet the needs of the local population has been delegated to all integrated care boards (ICBs) across England. In the 24 months to March 2024, 277,447 adults saw a National Health Service dentist in the Bedfordshire, Luton and Milton Keynes ICB, equal to 36% of the adult population in the ICB. In the 12 months to March 2024, 132,424 children saw an NHS dentist in the Bedfordshire, Luton and Milton Keynes ICB, equal to 55% of the child population in the ICB.
Patients unable to access an urgent dental appointment directly through an NHS dental practice are advised to contact NHS 111 for assistance. NHS dentists are now required to update their NHS website profiles at least every 90 days to ensure patients have access to up-to-date information on where they can access care.
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