The Scottish Liberal Democrats have announced a new £40 million plan to ensure everyone in Scotland has access to an NHS dentist. The plan will deliver 200 more dentists, a new Dental School and more dental check ups in schools. Katy said:
“Scottish Liberal Democrats have already introduced free dental checks across Scotland, but in areas such as Glasgow Kelvin finding an NHS dentist can be really difficult, as some local residents have already told me. That is why we will launch a new recruitment drive to bring in an additional 200 dentists to Scotland to work primarily as salaried NHS dentists. We will prioritise areas of the country like Glasgow Kelvin, where access to NHS dentists is more difficult.”
Some estimates suggest a third of Scottish children don’t have an NHS dentist. This has got to be tackled. We will ensure dentists do check ups in our local schools. Improving oral health in children is the sort of preventative measure that will reduce the burden on the NHS in the future. This is spending now to save in the future. The commitment to a new Dental School will give a much needed boost to the numbers of new dentists entering the workforce. We will invest over the next four years in the new dentists that people across the West End and the city center need.”
