Association says the prime minister has a “crisis? What crisis?” attitude to dentistry

Clive Lewis, MP for Norwich South, questioned Rishi Sunak on his plan for NHS dentistry. In response, the prime minister said, “there are record sums going into dentistry and indeed 500 more NHS dentists working today. Because of the contract reforms that we have put in place, 10 per cent more activity can happen, and the Department of Health and Social Care is currently talking about reforming the dentistry contract with dental practices to increase activity further.”

The BDA says that the statistics re-iterated by the PM are misleading.

Earlier in May 2023, the PM failed to respond to questions from Durham MP Mary Kelly Foy on whether NHS dentistry is “in crisis”. Bupa has recently announced mass closures, and over 300 patients queued outside a Kings Lynn practice from 4 am to secure access, a sight not seen in England for a generation.