§ 51. Mr. Edwin Wainwrightasked the Secretary of State for Social Services what is the present shortfall of dentists in the Trent Regional Health Authority 376W area; and if he will make a statement on what action he intends to take to remedy this situation.
§ Mr. MoyleThe latest information available is at 30th September 1977. In the general dental service, the population-to-dentist ratio in the Trent Region was 5,345:1 compared with the ratio for England of 3,920:1; in the community dental service the pupil-to-dental-officer ratio in the Trent Region was 9,553:1 compared with the ratio for England of 6,310:1; in the hospital service, there was a whole-time equivalent of 26.7 consultants in the dental specialties compared with the "norms" totalling 27.3.
The regional health authority recognises that there is a shortfall of dentists. As a result of expansion of dental schools' capacity, the number of dentists on the Dentists' Register is increasing by about 400 a year, and as the total number in practice continues to increase we can expect that dentists will be attracted to the Trent Region and to other less-well-served parts of the country.