Claim: There are over 500 more dentists working in the NHS this year compared to last year.
Fact-check: NHS dentist statistics don't support PM's claim that there are over 500 more 'this year' - Full Fact
Verdict: this isn't right, according to the latest published statistics. this figure appears to refer to the increase in the number of dentists in england carrying out nhs work in 2021/22, not "this year". new foi data released by the british dental association suggests there may have been about 700 fewer nhs dentists in 2022/23, though this data may not be complete. either way, a headcount of the number of dentists doing some nhs work doesn't tell the full story about nhs dental capacity.
Organisation: Full Fact
Author: Joe Gammie
Date published: 2023-06-08T00:00:00