Plan for NHS dental care 'made it worse'

MEASURES introduced last year to boost access to NHS dentists appear to have "resulted in worsening the picture", MPs have said.

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The Dental Recovery Plan has "comprehensively failed", according to the Public Accounts Committee (PAC), amid warnings that vulnerable patients "continue to suffer the most".

A new PAC report also says the dental contract "remains unfit for purpose", with current arrangements only sufficient for about half of England's population to see an NHS dentist over a two-year period.

The blueprint to bolster NHS dentistry was unveiled in February 2024, with a pledge that it would fund more than 1.5 million additional NHS treatments or 2.5 million appointments.