171,417 children in Surrey have not been seen by an NHS dentist in the last 12 months. Furthermore, 830,842 of Surrey’s adults not seen by an NHS dentist in the past 2 years.

This research, commissioned from the House of Commons Library and based on the latest data from the health service, estimates the number of children who were not seen by an NHS dentist in the year to June 2023 despite the NHS recommending that under-18s see a dentist at least once a year.

In addition, 62% of adults in Surrey have not been seen by an NHS dentist in the past two years.

This data has resulted in the Liberal Democrats calling for a boost to be given for NHS dentistry so that no one is forced to pay hundreds of pounds for private care, a boost which will provide an emergency rescue plan for NHS dentistry which includes spending any funding that has gone unspent in recent years to boost the number of appointments available to residents as well as the removal of VAT on children’s toothbrushes and toothpaste.