To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he has taken to improve dental health through (a) education and (b) improvement to dental materials.

In June Public Health England published two key documents to support oral health improvement:

The third edition of Delivering Better Oral Health provides evidence-based guidance for health care professionals on the prevention of dental disease. This includes specific advice regarding the provision of preventative dental advice and treatment for children. This edition includes a new section on ‘Helping patients to change behaviour’ which supports health care professionals on how to help their patients to change behaviour and improve their health and wellbeing.

Local authorities are responsible for oral health improvement and the commissioning of oral health improvement programmes; the toolkit (Local Authorities Improving oral health: Commissioning Better Oral Health for Children and Young people) aims to support local authorities to commission these programmes.