HC Deb 08 May 1973 vol 856 c49W
33. Sir J. Langford-Holt

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services, in order to assess the availability of dental treatment in this country, whether he will take steps to find out what is the proportion of dentists to population in the USA and Western European countries which compares with the figure of 3,600 people per dentist in England and Wales.

Sir K. Joseph

Although the United States of America and some Western European countries have a higher ratio of dentists to population than the United Kingdom, such ratios are not, in my view, a reliable guide to the volume or range of dental services provided.