Access to NHS dental care improved slightly in the last quarter of 2008, according to latest figures from the NHS Information Centre .
The data shows that 27.3 million people in England (53.4 per cent of the population) were able to see an NHS dentist in the 24 months ending 31 December 2008, a rise of 300,000 from September 2008.
However, the figure is still 3.1 per cent less than the number of people seen by dentists in the two years prior to the introduction of the new dental contract in April 2006.
Commenting on the figures, Dr Barry Cockcroft, the UK’s Chief Dental Officer, said: "Today's data shows that over the last two quarters of 2008, the number of patients accessing an NHS dentist in a two-year period increased by nearly 340,000."
"Given the increase in the amount of NHS dentistry now being commissioned by PCTs, we are confident that the NHS will continue to build on this improvement."
"It also shows that NHS dentists are providing more services for patients, an increase of 800,000 (3.1 per cent) courses of treatment in 2008/09 from the same period last year."
He added: "We want to ensure that every person who wants to access an NHS dentist is able to do so and have invested a record £2 billion in dentistry and set up a national access programme to help the NHS deliver this."
