In advance of the Health and Social Care Select Committee’s scheduled panel enquiry on March 19, 2024, the British Society of Paediatric Dentistry’s (BSPD) president, Paula Waterhouse, has written to each of the 11 committee members, including the chair, Steve Brine. She laid out questions that should be put to the panel.

Including the society’s recently issued ‘Blueprint’ for paediatric dental recovery, Paula Waterhouse said, “BSPD has high expectations of the enquiry since the crisis in dentistry is now a matter of urgency. What is needed is a serious plan that demands measurable outcomes, to grip the immediate crisis and set NHS dentistry on the path to recovery in the long-term.”

The open letter issued to each member of the Health & Social Care Committee reads as follows:

Dear Steve Brine MP,

I write to you as the president of the British Society of Paediatric Dentistry (BSPD) regarding the government’s dental recovery plan - and in light of the Health and Social Care Select Committee’s scheduled panel enquiry on March 19.

BSPD reached out to Victoria Atkins MP in November 2023 (and previously to her predecessor, Steven Barclay MP) to offer expert guidance on what is needed to address the current crisis in paediatric dentistry in the UK. At the time we also issued our Society’s ‘Blueprint’ to get children’s oral health back on track (see below). BSPD’s clinicians and academics are the expert voice in children’s oral health and best placed to advise on the most effective interventions. We did not hear back and as has been identified, the Government’s current plan does not address the need for a fundamental reform of the contract with dentists (see BSPD Press Release Govt Dental Recovery Plan).

Therefore, at the enquiry on March 19, we request that the following questions are put to the panel:

  • Regarding the proposed mobile vans, are they mobile units able to deliver treatment – or simply vans delivering toothbrushes and toothpaste? If they are mobile units, where have they been moved from, and where will the workforce come from?
  • How were the locations of the mobile units decided? Please can you seek reassurance that the decision has been clinically led, with involvement of dental public health teams to ensure they will be located in areas of high need and low access, rather than positioning them in marginal Conservative seats?
  • How will SmileForLife differ from the existing Smile4Life which appears to remain live on the NHSE website?
  • Why does the plan opt for fluoride varnish instead of supervised toothbrushing when the latter has a stronger evidence base and would provide a greater return on investment? (NB: fluoride varnish provides only a modest and non-significant reduction in dental caries experience at a relatively high cost when delivered in a nursery setting twice a year from three years of age).

BSPD has high expectations of the enquiry since the crisis in dentistry is now a matter of urgency. What is needed is a serious plan that demands measurable outcomes, to grip the immediate crisis and set NHS dentistry on the path to recovery in the long-term.

We look forward to hearing a productive panel enquiry on Tuesday.

Yours sincerely,

Professor Paula Waterhouse, president of BSPD

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