It is also clearly the case that NHS dental workforce issues are much more pronounced in some parts of England than others and that this is leading to some shocking regional inequalities in access to dental care.92 At the lowest end of the scale, Somerset ICB delivered 382 courses of treatment per 1,000 people in the region, whereas South Yorkshire ICB was delivering more than double this, at 800 courses of treatment per 1,000 people.93 Neither NHSE or DHSC denied that there are regional ineq...

It is also clearly the case that NHS dental workforce issues are much more pronounced in some parts of England than others and that this is leading to some shocking regional inequalities in access to dental care.92 At the lowest end of the scale, Somerset ICB delivered 382 courses of treatment per 1,000 people in the region, whereas South Yorkshire ICB was delivering more than double this, at 800 courses of treatment per 1,000 people.93 Neither NHSE or DHSC denied that there are regional inequalities in the provision of NHS dentistry though, for context, NHSE noted that “maldistribution of the dental workforce is a worldwide issue”. DHSC also Type: conclusion | Number: 31 | Response status: accepted Government response: 1.5 Reforming the dental contract needs careful consideration and this will take time. In the meantime, the government is addressing the immediate challenges for patients trying to access NHS dental care by delivering 700,000 extra urgent dental appointments per year