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Fighting for the nation’s oral health needs
MARK JONES writes about the Toothless in England campaign – for an NHS dentist for all

TOOTHLESS in England, the campaign demanding an NHS dentist for everyone, launched following the formation of a local volunteer group, Toothless in Suffolk, that Steve Marsling and I set up to highlight the need for the NHS to urgently find a replacement for the last remaining dental practice due to close in the rural town of Leiston, Suffolk. 

Half of the town’s residents had already been denied access to an NHS dentist the previous year following the closure of another practice.

The level of anger and frustration felt by the community on being abandoned in this way quickly became apparent when we held our first street stall in the middle of town, asking the public to sign a petition for the swift reinstatement of NHS dental services. 

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