Dental Services: Kent

Derek Wyatt
To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many NHS dentists there are in (a) Sittingbourne and (b) Sheppey.

Ms Rosie Winterton
Numbers of dentists under the new dental contractual arrangements, introduced on 1 April 2006, are not available at this level of area. Sittingbourne and Sheppey parliamentary constituency is covered by Swale primary care trust (PCT), which also covers Faversham and Mid-Kent constituency. The latest numbers for the PCT are provided in the following table.

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|                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            |Number|
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|Swale PCT                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   |41    |
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|Note:A dentist can provide as little or as much NHS treatment as he or she chooses or has agreed within their contract. In some cases an NHS dentist may be listed to carry out NHS work but may not do so for a given period.Sources:The Information Centre for health and social careNHS Business Services Authority (BSA)|      |
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