MARK DRAKEFORD responded to questions in the Senedd today about a “two-tier dental system in Wales” as Welsh Liberal Democrats announced a “plan to save the service.”

The First Minister highlighted that well over a million dental treatments had been given on the NHS in Wales in 2022, including to 155,000 additional NHS patients because of contract reform.

Welsh Liberal Democrat leader Jane Dodds invited the government to back her party’s “plan to save NHS dentistry in Wales.”

The Lib Dems accused Labour ministers of failing to get to grips with problems in the sector and allowing a “two-tier system” of dentistry to flourish in Wales.

A freedom of information request by the party revealed that more than 800 children in Powys were waiting for an NHS dentist.

However, Mr Drakeford explained that the number of children waiting for treatment in Powys had now been reduced by “more than 100 as a result of additional resources that the health board has.”

Ms Dodds said: “People who need NHS dental care find it almost impossible to get an appointment — in many cases they can only get one if they go private.

“The Welsh government isn’t seeing dentistry as a priority, but it’s hugely important to people’s quality of life that they should be able to live without pain or discomfort.

“In this absence of urgent action from the Welsh government, we have done their job for them and put forward a comprehensive plan.”