Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 5:23 pm on 14 March 2023.
Thank you, Heledd. Well, I think it is clear that those amongst the 140,000 who received an opportunity to have treatment for the first time in a long time, and those opportunities are available—we're paying for those. So, the contract ensures that there is an opportunity for them to receive the help that they need. So, if they are eligible for dentistry free of charge, then they will receive that service free of charge.
What we are seeing now is a situation where dentists have been treating people who need just a check-up—60 per cent of them need a check-up—and that's easy to do. Obviously, if you're seeing someone who hasn't been to the dentist for a while, for years, then you're bound to see more complications, and I understand, therefore, why that would create more difficulties for the dentists, and this is a strategy of ours that's quite clear. That's what we want to see. We want to see people who haven't had the opportunity to see a dentist in a long time get the chance, and those who don't need to see a dentist, because their mouths are healthy, that they don't see the dentist as often as they did, because the NICE guidelines say it's not necessary.