New data has revealed that the NHS is on track to deliver millions more dental appointments this year, with with 1.8 million additional treatments already delivered in seven months.

The government has pledged to deliver 700,000 extra urgent dental appointments and Integrated Care Boards (ICBs) have commissioned nearly one million appointments in line with this commitment.

However, the chief dental officer has said that the scope of these extra urgent appointments is too narrow and limits cases to the clinical definition of ‘urgent’. Patients with serious oral health issues are not eligible for these extra appointments, as their issues are not considered clinically ‘urgent’, patients with tooth decay or rotting teeth would not automatically be eligible for an urgent appointment.

Following advice from the chief dental officer, the government is now broadening the scope of the target to include all dental appointments.

Minister for health, Stephen Kinnock said: "Nobody should be pushed to such a state of desperation that they’re forced to pull their own teeth out, but there are far too many cases of this happening and it’s totally unacceptable.

"The idea that a patient in this terrible position may not qualify for an ‘urgent’ appointment is clearly nonsensical, so we’re acting to rectify this absurd situation.

"Thanks to the changes we’re making millions more appointments will be delivered this year, with children and those in the greatest need benefiting most.

"After more than a decade of decline, we’re putting NHS dentistry on the road to recovery."

Jason Wong, chief dental officer for England said: "Widening access to include other oral health care beyond urgent care means more patients will be seen quickly and get the care they need before problems escalate.

"By working closely with government and the dental sector to bring in these changes, we are delivering on the manifesto commitment to make prevention a priority and helping people maintain good oral health."