An Oldham MP has called for action after she said one of her constituents called more than 50 dentists but could not find one accepting NHS patients.

Debbie Abrahams MP raised the issue in Parliament on  Tuesday (January 9) after she found that most dentists in the Oldham East and Saddleworth constituency area were not accepting patients.

The issue was raised as part of an opposition day motion debate, with shadow health secretary Wes Streeting moving that the house recognise “that NHS Dentistry is in crisis”.

The motion was rejected 299 votes to 191.

In August, The Oldham Times could not find a single dental practice in the borough that was accepting NHS patients.

In the Parliamentary debate, Ms Abrahams said: “Twelve million people are not able to access dental care, including thousands in my Oldham constituency.”

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In response to Ms Abrahams, health secretary Victoria Atkins said the government was exploring plans to encourage dentists to spend a minimum portion of their time delivering NHS care after they graduate training.

Following the debate, the British Dental Association criticised the Government.

On Tuesday, British Dental Association Chair Eddie Crouch said: “Today, when we needed clarity, the Government provided a full gamut of platitudes and half-truths.

“Ministers keep saying they want an NHS dentist for everyone. There is still no evidence of any plan to make that happen.”

As part of its ‘Child Health Action Plan’, the Labour Party said it would introduce a ‘targeted national supervised toothbrushing programme for 3-5-year-olds’ in ‘fully-funded breakfast clubs’, by abolishing the non-dom tax status.

It also said it would reform the NHS dental contract so that ‘everyone who needs a dentist can get one’ as part of the plans.

In a statement, Ms Abrahams said: “I am regularly contacted by constituents raising concerns about the lack of NHS Dentists and sharing their awful experiences. From Students and Pensioners unable to afford private fees to residents reduced to DIY dentistry.

“One resident shared they called over 50 dentists, some that were up to 2 hours away and were told by all that they are not accepting any NHS patients. Another told me they contacted all the dentists within a 40-mile radius to be informed that nobody is taking on NHS patients.

“I have also been contacted by trained dentists unable to start their own NHS dental practices due to the exorbitant costs.

“The access crisis and the exodus of dentists from the NHS is having a disproportionate impact on low-income or vulnerable groups. For example, in Oldham, four in 10 Children surveyed had enamel decay compared to the UK average of three in 10.1

“There is a clear association between poverty and poor dental health. In turn, poor dental health is also associated with health conditions such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease and strokes. Oral cancer is one of the fastest-rising types of cancer and kills more people than car accidents in the UK.

“It doesn’t have to be this way. Labour’s plan that I backed this week would reform NHS dentistry contracts to address these health inequalities, ensuring dental care for all. Disappointingly, the Government failed to support the proposal.”

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A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: “We are making progress to boost NHS dental services and compared to the previous year 1.7 million more adults and 800,000 more children are receiving NHS dental care.

“We fund more than £3 billion of NHS dentistry a year and are taking preventative measures to improve oral health, such as expanding water fluoridation schemes. We have also announced plans to increase dental training places by 40 per cent and recently ran a consultation to better utilise the skills of dental hygienists and therapists.

“Further measures to improve access and increase the number of NHS dentists through our dental recovery plan will be set out shortly.”

If you have a story, I cover the whole borough of Oldham. Please get in touch at jack.fifield@newsquest.co.uk or click to send me a message on WhatsApp or on Signal on 07517566383.