6. Statement by the Minister for Health and Social Services: Dental Reform

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 5:09 pm on 14 March 2023.

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Photo of Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan Labour 5:09, 14 March 2023

(Translated)

Thank you. Well, the fact is that these dentists have already delivered to a great extent. What I asked was that they shift from seeing people who have healthy mouths and seeing them regularly, as was the case in the past—. Around 60 per cent people have healthy teeth, and they, according to NICE, don’t need to see a dentist more than once every two years. Now, that's what the NICE guidelines say—they're not our guidelines. So, we've worked on the basis that, even if 20 per cent of those see a dentist less often, you do reach a point where you can provide opportunities for new people to see dentists for the first time. So, I do think that we're moving in the right direction, and, of course, in north Wales, what we will see with the new academy, which will open for six days a week from the autumn onwards—they will have an opportunity to see 12,000 to 15,000 patients annually.