We need a National Dental Service.

When Labour launched the NHS in 1948, it was a truly comprehensive service, free at the point of need.

Tragically dental services was an early casualty, and has been on the pathway to privatisation since. For people in York, it is near impossible to register, and appointments are as rare as hens’ teeth.

Things were bad before the pandemic. Now people are going to have to wait as much as three years to get the care they need. Some are travelling out of York to see a dentist, some taking a loan. They should never be forced to go private. One constituent told me it was cheaper to go to Hungary. Not the kind of holiday I imagine anyone would look forward to.

Why should oral care come any different from other healthcare? Our mouths are as much a part of us as anything else.

Yet today opticians, dentists, audiologists and podiatrists have been extracted from our core NHS, while our eyes, teeth, ears and feet are still very much part of us.

What next?

The diagnosis is easy: we do not have enough NHS dentists.

The NHS contract is impossible to operate, and private practice is more lucrative when the dental contract fails to pay.

The solutions are obvious too, and that is why I made the case in Parliament for a National Dental Service.

During the pandemic, Government’s failure to provide full PPE to dentists meant that they had to work online.

While painkillers or antibiotics could be prescribed as an emergency, dentistry needs to be in person.

A colleague, in the Parliamentary debate, described how one of his constituents pulled out 18 of his own teeth. I know, the thought of it is gruesome. But when care was not available people went to extreme measures.

It took months for the Government to get round to setting up an emergency service.

Most dentistry involves ‘aerosol transmitting’ procedures, so PPE is essential as social distancing is certainly not an option.

But when the patient leaves the surgery, the airborne droplets do not, and therefore consulting rooms need to lie fallow before it is deep cleaned ahead of the next patient arriving.

This has meant that the number of patients seen each day has been significantly cut back.

Dentists have had to prioritise urgent work over routine inspections and non-urgent treatment. However the backlog is now so severe that 20 million of us are in the queue; things are out of control.

People are falling back on their GPs for pain relief or going to A&E. Dental services have imploded, yet Government have not brought forward a plan.

But, things are going to get worse.

The Government have set impossible targets for the number of patients that dentists have to see: 60 per cent of pre-pandemic levels (whereas in Wales there is no target, in Northern Ireland the target is 25 per cent and 20 per cent for Scotland).

But without funding advanced ventilation systems or proper cleaning, dentists are going to struggle. Failure to reach 60 per cent means NHS funding will be clawed back; or more likely dentists will throw in the towel.

With so many UK dentists originally from the EU, Brexit hasn’t helped either. I recently asked the Minister a series of questions about the shortfall of dentists, she didn’t have the data. Without a grip of these basic facts, Government clearly haven’t got a grip on this crisis.

First, we need to train far more dentists and retain them in the NHS. Maybe York should consider providing a dental school, alongside its outstanding medical school. I would certainly support the case.

Next we need to re-integrate dentistry into our NHS: a National Dental Service.

But, with waiting lists backing up, we need a rapid service to just check our teeth over. I have proposed that this could be rolled out like the Covid19 vaccine, so well organised by our NHS staff, and free for everyone – let’s establish this principle now. Dental checks could be rolled out at centres, schools and care homes. This time, with children being the priority group.

Next, we need a rapid flow process for treatments, on the NHS, free at the point of need.

Did the Government bite at my plan? Far from it. It was like pulling teeth. But I am determined to fight for this. With a new mass shake up of the NHS, I want to ensure that oral health is seen as a priority.