PARLIAMENTARY WRITTEN QUESTION
Dental Services: Coronavirus (20 April 2020)

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department has taken to ensure that people are able to access emergency dental treatment during the covid-19 outbreak; and what discussions he has had with representatives of the dentistry industry on the provision of such treatment.

Asked by:
Feryal Clark (Labour)

NHS England and NHS Improvement and the Chief Dental Officer have been working closely with key stakeholders from the profession including the British Dental Association throughout the pandemic to ensure appropriate services are in place for all who need them.

The over 6,000 National Health Service dental practices in England have been able to see patients face to face since 8 June, where appropriate personal protective equipment and infection prevention and control procedures are in place. NHS England and NHS Improvement issued guidance setting out the priority order in which patients should be seen – focused on urgent treatment, care for vulnerable groups and then routine care which is overdue. Over 600 urgent dental centres remain open to support the provision of urgent and emergency face to face care.

Answered by:
Jo Churchill (Conservative)
18 November 2020