Suffolk dental campaigners meet Government minister

The Toothless in England group met Andrea Leadsom, minister for public health, start for life and primary care, to discuss the situation as part of a round table chat at the Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC) in London.

They have been calling for better funding for NHS dentistry and a renegotiated dental contract.

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Figures from the Local Government Association in October last year showed that Suffolk had some of the lowest NHS dentist numbers in the country, with the Mid Suffolk district being the fourth lowest, with just 0.067 dentists per 1,000 people.

Mark Jones, founder of Toothless in England (Image: Toothless in Suffolk)Mark Jones, founder of Toothless in England, said:  "We are very happy that the Government now acknowledges Toothless in England.

 “By actively contributing to these discussions, we hope that the emphasis will shift to offering patient-first solutions.

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"Apart from a complete overhaul of the current NHS dental contract, the first priorities should be the reopening of all hospital-based dental facilities to provide emergency treatments, early intervention through community and school-based oral health monitoring and education and the provision of special grants to recruit and train dental students to work within the NHS for at least five years.”

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“If, as Ms Leadsom’s predecessor, Neil O’Brien MP, stated in evidence to the Health and Social Care Committee NHS Dentistry inquiry, the Government’s ambition for NHS dentistry remains true – 'We do want everyone who needs one to be able to access an NHS dentist' – then they simply must start demonstrating it immediately.

"Unless visible signs of efforts are seen on the ground in our communities soon, then public trust will simply witter away.”