CAMPAIGNERS have written an open letter to Health Secretary Wes Streeting urging him to declare a dental emergency and use special authorities to address potentially life-threatening accessibility issues. 

Toothless in England, while welcoming Labour’s dental rescue plan, argues that it does “not go far enough” to address major issues such as access to basic oral care and restorative dental treatments.

The letter points out that there have been “extreme yet increasingly common consequences” that have led to preventable deaths, such as from untreated sepsis and undiagnosed mouth cancer.