House of Commons Library research commissioned by the Liberal Democrats estimates that more than 5.35 million children in England have not been seen by an NHS dentist for at least a year.

This includes nearly 1 million children in the South East of England alone, meaning almost half of all children in the region have not seen a dentist in the past 12 months. This is a trend across the country, with 44.6% of children not seeing a dentist in the last year.

In Hackney, 62.3% of children had not seen an NHS dentist in the past year, nearly two in three, more than anywhere else in the country. Other areas with the highest rate of children not seeing NHS dentists in the past year include Herefordshire (61.7%), Portsmouth (59.3%), and Thurrock (58.54%).

The Liberal Democrats are also calling for reform of the NHS dental contract to bring private dentists back into the NHS to create more appointments and for the removal of VAT on children's toothbrushes and toothpaste.

Daisy Cooper, Liberal Democrat health and social care spokesperson, said: ‘This appalling situation cannot go on. We Liberal Democrats are calling for an emergency registration scheme so that children who are eligible for free check-ups can actually access them, and for reform of the broken dental contract to bring more dentists back to the NHS and end the scandal of dental deserts.

‘The new government cannot waste any time in gripping this emergency and rescuing NHS dentistry to ensure our children get the care they deserve.'