Dental Services: West Dorset

We are aware of the challenges faced in accessing a dentist, particularly in more rural areas. The Government is committed to ensuring that people across the country can access urgent dental care when they need it. In 2025/26, integrated care boards (ICBs) commissioned additional urgent dental appointments, and there is now an urgent care safety net available in all areas of the country. From April 2026, dentists are now required to deliver a set number of urgent dental appointments each year.

Nationally, 1.8 million additional courses of National Health Service dental treatment have been delivered in the seven months between April to October 2025 compared to the corresponding months prior to the general election. For the NHS Dorset ICB, which includes the West Dorset constituency, this figure was 5,217 more treatments.

Strengthening the workforce is key to our ambitions for NHS dentistry. The recruitment of dentists remains a priority. ICBs, including NHS Dorset ICB, are able to make use of the Golden Hello scheme to encourage dentists to work in those areas that need them most.

The 10 Year Workforce Plan will ensure the NHS has the right people in the right places, with the right skills to care for patients, when they need it. In the 10-Year Health Plan, published in July 2025, we committed to making it a requirement for newly qualified dentists to practice in the NHS for a minimum period of at least three years.

We are increasing the availability of Overseas Registration Exam and Licence in Dental Surgery examinations for overseas-qualified dentists to enable an additional 2,000 dentists to join the register annually from 2028/29.

We are committed to fundamentally reforming the dental contract by the end of this Parliament.