HC Deb 01 May 2003 vol 404 c511W
Mr. Drew

To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many patients have used the facilities of the General Dentistry Service in Gloucestershire in each year since its inception. [109404]

Ms Blears

The information available is for the number of adult courses of treatment carried out by the general dental service in Gloucestershire Family Health Service Authority and Gloucestershire Health Authority for the years ending March 1992 to 2002. This data is shown in the table.

General Dental Service: Number of adult courses of treatment, year ending March 1992–2002—Gloucestershire Family Health Service Authority/Health Authority
Thousands
Year ending March Number of claims
1992 358
1993 350
1994 261
1995 244
1996 234
1997 222
1998 215
1999 219
2000 219
2001 210
2002 203

Note:

A course of treatment may involve one or more visits to the dentist. A patient may have several courses in a single year. This information is not available for previous years. Figures for children are not given because courses pf treatment for children exclude courses where a payment claim is not required.

National Health Service dental services are also provided by the community dental service and the personal dental services.