NO one should ever have to pull out their own teeth.

Yet for some people, even in Cornwall, that is the reality after 14 years of neglect under Conservative and Coalition austerity.

When you’re in severe pain, unable to get an NHS dental appointment, and feel forced to take matters into your own hands, the system is broken. And anyone who has tried to find an NHS dentist here will know why Cornwall is described as a “dental desert.”

So many patients struggle to register or even book urgent appointments. Healthwatch Cornwall’s 2024 report found that every single NHS practice was closed to new adult patients. That’s 100 per cent. This leaves people living with infection, travelling out of the county for appointments, or turning up at A&E. Royal Cornwall Hospitals have seen increasing admissions for tooth decay in recent years. This is unacceptable, and it is why this government is reforming NHS dentistry.

The current dental contract is outdated. Dentists are paid through Units of Dental Activity (UDAs), a system that incentivises quick, routine check-ups over complex, time consuming care. The result? The people with the greatest need, those with severe decay or gum disease are often the hardest to treat under this model. The government’s recent consultation made it clear that UDAs are a barrier to treating individuals with the greatest need.

As Health Minister MP Stephen Kinnock said, focusing resources on people who already have good oral health is not the best use of NHS time or money. That is why we are looking at the most significant modernisation of NHS dentistry in years.

From April 2026, the new contract will prioritise urgent and complex care. The £4 billion NHS dentistry budget will be better targeted, delivering value for taxpayers and better outcomes for patients. Under the new system, someone with multiple decayed teeth will get a single, tailored package of care, including prevention advice, rather than being bounced between fragmented appointments. This could save patients up to £225 in fees, while dentists are properly paid for the work they do.

These reforms are part of a wider rescue plan focused on prevention. A national supervised toothbrushing programme for three to five year olds is rolling out, backed by £11-million and 23-million donated toothbrushes/paste, reaching up to 600,000 children this year. Community water fluoridation schemes proven to reduce decay are expanding. Dental nurses will play a bigger role in prevention, applying fluoride varnish. In Cornwall, where tooth decay among young children is far too high, this matters.

Locally, Cornwall’s NHS is commissioning more urgent dental provision. Four new NHS practices are being tendered. Minimum UDA rates are rising. A mobile dental unit launched this summer is reaching rural and vulnerable communities. Recruitment is supported with golden-hello incentives - £20,000 per dentist for areas that are harder to staff. And children’s oral health programmes now reach 76 per cent of primary schools.

This will not fix everything overnight. But this is a positive and needed reform. I will make sure these changes are felt here in Cornwall, because we all deserve access to dentistry when it’s needed. No one should be left in pain. And no one should ever have to pull out their own teeth.