Dental Services: Children56272
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment his Department has made of the factors that limit children's access to NHS dental services; whether those factors differ in different parts of the UK; and what steps his Department is taking to increase such access.

David Mowat The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health

NHS England has a duty to commission primary dental services to meet need throughout England.

NHS England is introducing a programme of dental practice-based initiatives that will assist parents/guardians to improve the oral health of under five year olds. The programme will focus on all children, particularly those who are not currently visiting the dentist, for evidence based preventive advice about reducing sugar intake and increasing the exposure to fluoride on teeth. There will be patient and practice level interventions alongside work to strengthen relationships with local communities.

The programme intends to complement existing local initiatives and complement the work of the Child Oral Health Improvement Programme Board. Further work is being undertaken to develop the programme.

Public Health England supports local authorities and NHS England with their respective roles for child oral health improvement and dental access.

At the British Dental Association conference on 27 May the then Minister of State for Community and Social Care (Alistair Burt), announced that he had agreed with NHS England that they will work in 10 high needs areas within England to look at more creative ways of using their commissioning expenditure to improve children’s oral health. These areas will be announced in the new year.