§ Mr. Shersbyasked the Secretary of State for Social Services what studies have been undertaken by his Department to ascertain whether, and to what extent, the dental health of the nation has improved since the commencement of dental treatment through the National Health Service; and if he will make a statement.
§ Dr. OwenReports of two surveys carried out for my Department, "Adult Dental Health in England and Wales in 1968" and "Children's Dental Health in England and Wales 1973", were published in 1970 and 1975 respectively. Since the National Health Service began the number of courses of dental treatment and cases of emergency treatment carried out in the NHS general dental services in England and Wales rose from 7.8 million in 1949 to 25.8 million in 1974.