Over 65,000 children in Oxfordshire were not seen by an NHS dentist in the past year, research has revealed.

67,153 youngsters in the county could not get a free check-up, according to House of Commons Library research, commissioned by the Liberal Democrats.

Local MPs Olly Glover, Charlie Maynard, Calum Miller, Layla Moran and Freddie van Mierlo have called for an end to ‘dental deserts’ saying that these figures were a ‘damning indictment’ of Conservative party’s legacy of running local health services into the ground.

The research from the House of Commons Library, estimates the number of children who weren’t seen by an NHS dentist in the year to March 2024, based on the latest data from the health service.

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It also revealed the proportion of children not seen by an NHS dentist in Oxfordshire.

For the previous year, a staggering 44 per cent of children had not been seen by an NHS dentist.

This is despite the NHS recommending that under-18s see a dentist at least once a year because their teeth can decay faster, compared to two years for adults.

Tooth decay is also the leading cause of hospital admissions for children aged 6-10.

The Liberal Democrats are calling for an emergency rescue plan for NHS dentistry, including spending any funding that has gone unspent in recent years to boost the number of appointments as well as the removal of VAT on children’s toothbrushes and toothpaste.

Oxfordshire Liberal Democrat MPs Olly Glover, Charlie Maynard, Calum Miller, Layla Moran and Freddie van Mierlo blamed the previous government for creating 'dental deserts'.

They said: “We have heard countless stories of desperate parents who cannot find an NHS dentist anywhere in Oxfordshire.

"Everyone knows how important it is for children to be able to see a dentist when they need to be in our area, far too often that is proving impossible.

“The Conservative party’s disastrous legacy on the NHS cannot be understated. The new government must make fixing local health services like dentistry here in Oxfordshire a top priority after the Conservatives ran them into the ground.

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“The only way we will rescue dentistry in our area is by the government investing in local health services at the Budget and bringing an end to dental deserts so that every child in Oxfordshire can see a dentist when they need to.”

A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: “It is unacceptable that too many people, including children, are not able to access the dental treatment they need. That’s why rebuilding NHS dentistry is a priority for this government.

“We will start with an extra 700,000 urgent dentistry appointments to help those who need it most, and reform the dental contract to encourage more dentists to offer NHS services to patients.

“Prevention is better than cure, so we will also introduce supervised tooth brushing for three to five-year-olds in the most deprived communities.”