Today I’ve signed a cross-party letter to the Treasury calling on Ministers to increase NHS dental budgets, to ensure everyone can see a dentist who needs to. I’ve heard from many people in Sheffield concerned about dental clinics and being unable to secure an appointment because of capacity.  

I’ve previously urged the Government to change regulations around dental targets to make it easier for dentists to prioritise patients who need the most urgent care. However the issue of funding is extremely pressing ahead of the Spending Review announcements coming this week.  

Over 30 million NHS dental appointments have been lost due to the pandemic, with Healthwatch England and the BDA warning that this eye-watering backlog is not just causing huge difficulties in patients accessing timely care, but will deepen health inequalities too.  

I will continue to challenge Ministers to provide better access to dental care for everyone.