§ Mr. HarveyTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the cost of restoring free dental examinations to(a) all adults, (b) all those over the age of 65, (c) all those over the age of 60 and (d) all those over the age of 55 years; and if he will make a statement. [136483]
§ Mr. HuttonAbout a quarter of dental examinations carried out on adults in the General Dental Service have either no patient charge or else the patient pays a reduced charge. Making dental examinations free to all adults would reduce patient charge revenue in England by:
£ million Adults Annual reduction in patient charge revenue Age 18 and over 75 Age 65 and over 13 Age 60 and over 19 Age 55 and over 26 The total cost of making the change would exceed the reduction in patient charge revenue because additional demand would be stimulated for dental examinations and there would be some additional dental treatment.