MPs demand action on Devon ‘dental desert’

Devon’s Liberal Democratic MPs have called for crucial improvements in the county’s NHS dentistry services.

Speaking in the House of Commons, the Lib Dem MPs called on the county’s Integrated Care Board (ICB) to ‘up its game’. They claim there are holes in the NHS contract with dentists, issues with recruitment and retention, and problems with accessing care.
Latest NHS statistics show that only half of the children covered by Devon’s ICB saw a dentist in 2022-2023, the last period for which there is data. Six out of 10 adults haven’t seen a dentist in the last two years.
One in five people are reported to have turned to ‘DIY dentistry’ in desperation.
“This is simply not good enough,” said Tiverton and Minehead Lib Dem MP Rachel Gilmour. “The government and local ICBs need to step up to the plate.
“Without wholesale reform to the dental contract, and the way in which NHS dentistry is prioritised, patients will continue to have to fight simply to access much-needed dental care.”
Torbay’s Steve Darling said the bay is a ‘dental desert’ and South Devon’s Caroline Voaden added: “The government needs to urgently reassess our call for health care providers to be exempted from its painful jobs tax, and commit to turning around this shameful situation in NHS dentistry.”