- Asked by: Finlay Carson, MSP for Galloway and West Dumfries, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 09 March 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Maree Todd on 22 March 2023
To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the impact on families on low incomes of an inability to access NHS dental treatment.
Answer
This Government has already introduced free dental care for young people between 18 and 25 years of age. We have also made a commitment to abolish all NHS dental charges in the lifetime of this parliament.
We continue to support Health Boards to deliver NHS dental services and have put in place additional recruitment and retention incentives in rural and remote areas.
- Asked by: Finlay Carson, MSP for Galloway and West Dumfries, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 09 March 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Maree Todd on 22 March 2023
To ask the Scottish Government what support it will provide to people who require non-emergency dental care, but cannot access NHS dental care and cannot afford to pay for private treatment.
Answer
I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-15795 on 22 March 2023. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers
- Asked by: Finlay Carson, MSP for Galloway and West Dumfries, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 09 March 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Maree Todd on 22 March 2023
To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of any impact on the quality of life of people who are unable to access NHS dental care due to the reported lack of available NHS dentists in their NHS board area, and who continue to live with dental problems that can be easily treated, and what steps it plans to take to support anyone in such a position.
Answer
I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-15796 on 22 March 2023. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers .
- Asked by: Finlay Carson, MSP for Galloway and West Dumfries, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 09 March 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Maree Todd on 22 March 2023
To ask the Scottish Government whether it is still the position of NHS Scotland that people should receive a dental check-up every three months to two years, and what action it will take to support people who cannot access a check-up in this timeframe, due to a reported lack of available NHS dentists in some NHS board areas.
Answer
NHS patients are eligible to have a free dental check-up every six months if required. The time between check-ups can vary from 3 months to 2 years, depending on the oral health of the patient.
As part of the recovery of NHS dental services, on 1 February 2022 we introduced an enhanced examination fee for all patients, which included for the first time a fee for a child examination. The latest statistics from Public Health Scotland show that over 1.6 million NHS examination appointments were completed between April and October with an average of more than 300,000 courses of treatment per month, meaning we are on course for over 3.5 million contacts in the 2022-23 financial year.
- Asked by: Donald Cameron, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 07 March 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Maree Todd on 21 March 2023
To ask the Scottish Government for what reasons the percentage of children participating in the General Dental Service fell from 97% in September 2007 to 63.9% in September 2021.
Answer
Due to the onset of the pandemic in Scotland all routine dental services ceased from 23 March 2020, with emergency and urgent dental care being provided by dedicated urgent dental care centres from NHS Boards.
The majority of dental services require the use of an aerosol which carries a higher risk of viral transmission. Dental services operated under specific infection, prevention and control measures for two years to April 2022.
- Asked by: Donald Cameron, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 07 March 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Maree Todd on 21 March 2023
To ask the Scottish Government, regarding the General Dental Service, what action it is taking to reverse the decline in the number of registered (a) adults and (b) children participating in the service.
Answer
An assessment of participation - defined as the proportion of registered patients who saw a dentist in the last 2 years - needs to be seen against the backdrop of pandemic restrictions to March 2022.
Since April 2022, with the relaxation of restrictions, NHS dentistry has averaged more than 300,000 courses of treatment per month, an increase of 40 per cent in NHS dental activity compared with 2021-22.
The latest report from Public Health Scotland on participation rates (as at 30 September 2022) shows rates increasing for the period March to September 2022 following the emergence from pandemic restrictions.
- Asked by: Donald Cameron, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 07 March 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Maree Todd on 21 March 2023
To ask the Scottish Government for what reasons the percentage of adults participating in the General Dental Service fell from 98.6% in September 2007 to 50.2% in September 2021.
Answer
I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-15621 on 21 March 2023. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers
- Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 16 February 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Maree Todd on 16 March 2023
To ask the Scottish Government how many children currently living in temporary accommodation are not registered with a dentist.
Answer
- Asked by: Donald Cameron, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 10 February 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Maree Todd on 10 March 2023
To ask the Scottish Government what the current average waiting time is for an appointment with a dentist in the NHS (a) Highland and (b) Western Isles area.
Answer
This information is not held centrally by the Scottish Government. NHS dental services are provided by independent contractors/high street dentists and any management information on waiting times will be held by each practice. There is no central consolidation of this information.
- Asked by: Donald Cameron, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 10 February 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Maree Todd on 10 March 2023
To ask the Scottish Government what the current average distance is that patients have to travel to access a dentist in the NHS (a) Highland and (b) Western Isles area.
Answer
This information is not held centrally by the Scottish Government. NHS dental services are provided by independent contractors/high street dentists and any management information on waiting times will be held by each practice. There is no central consolidation of this information.