York MP Rachael Maskell has probed the new Health Secretary Victoria Atkins over the state of dental healthcare across the country.

Ms Maskell quizzed Ms Atkins last week in her role as Vice Chair of the Health and Social Care Select Committee.

It came as City of York Council heard last week services are at 'breaking point' due to a severe shortage of NHS dentists.

This was the first Health Select Committee for the Lincolnshire-based Conservative, who was promoted into the role just a month ago in Rishi Sunak’s latest ministerial reshuffle.

Ms. Atkins was held to account for the government having no NHS Dental Recovery Plan, despite it being promised before the summer. 

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The York Central Labour MP said with 12million people unable to secure an NHS Dental appointment last year, and 169 children having teeth extracted each day.

This was the biggest reason why children attend hospital, she continued, adding around 10% of people are turning to self-dental care, including removing their own teeth. 

The Labour MP highlighted that dentistry was more than about our teeth as dentists diagnose oral cancers, abscess infections can lead to sepsis and as bacteria enters your mouth, can lead to blood-born diseases. Yet for so many, dental healthcare is inaccessible.

Rachael Maskell MP also challenged the Health Secretary on workforce shortages, with funding NHS Dentistry in England being significantly lower than that across the other three nations of the UK, and the lowest in Europe. The NHS Long Term Workforce Plan does not address the shortages for another three years, until 2026, she said. 

York Press: Victoria Atkins MP

Finally, Ms Maskell highlighted the failure to reform the contract between dentists and the Government. The contract, which is 17 years old, has failed to ensure dental care is fully funded, and has been a major reason why dentists have turned their practices over to the private sector, she said.

The Labour MP said reforming contracts with dentists was essential, and highlighted her committee’s recommendation that it should be a capitation process whereby dentists are funded on the number of patients rather than on grouping different treatment types.

Ms Atkins responded that she was looking at options for the Dental Recovery Plan, which would be published ‘soon.’ The minister added she could not give a date as she did not want to miss it, in case she made changes to it. But she told the committee she looked forward to coming back to the committee and discussing the plan.

Ms Atkins said the NHS in 2022/23 employed 1,352 more dentists than in 2010/11 and last year treated 1.7m more adults and 800,000 more children than in the previous year.

“We have made some improvement,” she said.

The Conservative minister said current dental arrangement allow flexibility. People are not registered with a dentists like they are with a GP, you are registered with a dentist just for the treatment.

People can use the NHS app or 111 Healthline and “find other dentists and go to them,” she added.