§ Mr. Gerald Howarthasked the Secretary of State for Social Services how much was spent by the National Health Service on restorative dentistry in each of the last five years.
§ Mr. Kenneth ClarkeThe estimated gross cost of restorative dentistry provided under the general dental service in each of the last five years was as follows:
£ million 1980 190.01 1981 225.20 1982 249.77 1983 256.50 1984 282.10 We cannot separately identify the costs of restorative treatment provided under the community and hospital dental services.
§ Mr. Gerald Howarthasked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many National Health Service patients were treated for restorative dentistry in each of the last five years.
§ Mr. Kenneth ClarkeWe do not have information on the number of patients treated for restorative dentistry. The number of treatments provided under the general and community dental services in each of the last 5 years was as follows:
Year General dental service Community dental service 1980 13,840,190 2,518,174 1981 13,855,230 2,272,519 1982 13,972,780 2,052,837 1983 14,029,890 1,817,338 1984 14,077,180 n.a. The available information relating to restorative dentistry provided under the hospital dental service is as follows:
Year In-patient cases Day cases New out patient atten dances 1980 — 247 20,505 1981 8 115 27,922 1982 34 179 42,549 1983 47 188 42,350 1984 n.a. n.a. n.a. These figures exclude treatment provided in hospitals by general dental practitioners.