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Dental Services: Greater Manchester

Asked by Phil BrickellLabourDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled Answered 17 June 2026UIN 9433

The question

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, a) what assessment has the Department made of orthodontic waiting times in the Greater Manchester region and b) whether the Department is taking steps to bring down those waiting times.

Answered by Stephen Kinnock

Data on the average waiting times for National Health Service orthodontic treatment is not held centrally.

Integrated care boards (ICBs) are responsible for commissioning primary care services, including NHS dentistry and orthodontic services, to meet the needs of the local population. For the Bolton West constituency, this is the Greater Manchester ICB.

To support ICBs in their duties, NHS England has published a number of documents, including a clinical policy to support the commissioning of orthodontic activity, which is available at the following link:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/publication/clinical-standards-for-dental-specialties-orthodontics/

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