<p>The changes announced in July 2022 and detailed in ‘Our plan for patients’ are the first steps in our work to support National Health Service dentistry and patients, including children, particularly in areas where access is a struggle.</p><p> </p><p>But we know that we must go further and that is why we are again working with the sector and NHS England to consider further wider-reaching changes to improve the system.</p><p> </p><p>In 2006, the UK National Screening Committee advised that population screening for dental disease in children aged six to nine years old in schools should be discontinued as it was ineffective. Reviews in 2013 and 2019 upheld this recommendation. The latest report is available from the following link:</p><p> </p><p><a href="https://eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fview-health-screening-recommendations.service.gov.uk%2Fdental-disease%2F&data=05%7C01%7CSheela.Udayakumar%40dhsc.gov.uk%7C8dd14210a2a34defc84508db18ce7c28%7C61278c3091a84c318c1fef4de8973a1c%7C1%7C0%7C638131047341625828%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&sdata=drS0DPbud1bMCwGSTsuBnQKgdmyNTI3GsQOD8aDIgC0%3D&reserved=0" target="_blank">https://view-health-screening-recommendations.service.gov.uk/dental-disease/</a></p><p> </p><p>In circumstances where parents are unable to access an urgent dental appointment for their child directly through a NHS dental practice, they should contact NHS 111 for assistance.</p>