PLANS have been announced to boost dental services in Tenbury and beyond.

MP Harriett Baldwin, whose West Worcestershire constituency covers the town, has welcomed plans which will help to boost dental services in Worcestershire and add capacity for urgent and routine treatment.

The Department for Health and Social Care announced an NHS Dental Recovery Plan to help boost the number of NHS dentists in February.

Ms Baldwin said a number of local people have contacted her about local NHS dentistry provision and highlighted how expensive private treatments can be.

The new plan will deliver by adding an extra £200 million to create 2.5 million appointments with a focus on prevention, recovery and longer term reform.

The plan increases the amount NHS dentists are paid by 22 per cent, pays dentists a bonus of £50 for each new patient they take on who has not seen a dentist for two years. The plan incentivises dentists to work in rural areas and comes with a commitment to roll-out ‘dental vans’ to deliver services in accessible places.

The plan launches a Smile for Life programme to assist new parents in preventing dental decay in children. It increases the number of dentistry training places by 40 per cent over the next seven years and expands water fluoridation subject to consultation.

Ms Baldwin said: “I welcome this much-anticipated plan to fix this issue as my constituents have flagged to me that it is getting harder to find NHS dentists.

“This package of measures comes on top of an existing £15,000 cash bounty to try and persuade more dentists to set up operations in areas where there isn’t an NHS dentist.

“Good dental healthcare is essential. My mother used to tell me to only look after the teeth I want to keep and regular dental hygiene checkups are a worthwhile use of your time. This plan will make it easier to do that at NHS prices. ”