NHS Dentistry and Primary Health Care

Part of the debate – in the House of Commons at 2:41 pm on 29 June 2005.

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Photo of Paul Rowen Paul Rowen Liberal Democrat, Rochdale 2:41, 29 June 2005

I am grateful for the opportunity to take part in the debate and thank my hon. Friend Steve Webb for giving us a timely breakdown of the serious crisis in the dental health service. Had I listened to the Minister's speech without knowing about some of the realities in my constituency, I would have thought that everything in the garden was rosy, but unfortunately that is not the case. Over the past eight years, the situation in Rochdale has got worse. Fewer people in Rochdale are now registered with an NHS dentist and there are fewer NHS dentists. Although palliatives have been put in place, the walk-in centre is no longer a walk-in centre because people have a two-day wait before they can be seen there.

The Minister spoke about some of the issues that must be addressed. I agree with Sir Paul Beresford about fluoridation. Yet another debate is going on in the north-west about whether we should have water fluoridation and I have met one of the officers employed by the regional primary care trust who is involved in that. I believe that fluoridation should happen, so it would help if the Government gave clear advice and instructions so that it is not left up to individual areas and authorities to decide whether such a simple and cost-effective way of improving dental health could be implemented.