Major measures to tackle dental access crisis welcomed by MP |
Lowestoft MP Jess Asato - whose constituency includes Beccles and the villages - has welcomed government action to increase the number of dentists available to patients and improve access to NHS dentistry.
Under the plans, up to 2,400 overseas-trained dentists a year could be registered by 2028/29 to practise in the UK.
The government has also announced 50 additional dental training places per year from 2027, with new places targeted in areas with the greatest shortage of dentists – including rural and coastal communities often described as “dental deserts”.
Lowestoft MP Jess Asato during her maiden speech. Picture: Jess Asato (Image: Jess Asato)
Ms Asato has regularly raised the issue of access to NHS dentistry since being elected, and made dentistry the first issue she raised in the House of Commons after the election.
Over the past year she has also worked with the Association of Dental Groups to push for solutions to the national workforce shortage and organised a round table meeting with local dentists to discuss how access to NHS dental care can be improved for people in Lowestoft, Beccles and the surrounding villages.
Ms Asato said: “Across Lowestoft, Beccles and the villages far too many people are struggling to access an NHS dentist, with families travelling miles or simply going without care.
"Expanding dental training places and backing a dental school at UEA would be a huge step forward for our region.
"Training dentists locally is one of the best ways to keep them here and start tackling the dental access crisis our communities face."
Ms Asato has also supported proposals for a new dental school at the University of East Anglia, which local MPs have long argued would help address severe shortages of dentists across the East of England.
While welcoming the latest steps, the MP vowed to continue to work with ministers, dentists and local health leaders ,stressing that more reform will still be needed, including long-awaited changes to the NHS dental contract to ensure dentists are properly supported to deliver NHS care.