NHS England in the North Midlands has recently awarded £2.25 million to local NHS dental practices in an attempt to increase NHS dental access for around 30,000 patients across Staffordshire and Shropshire.

The funding will benefit 39 NHS dental practices across all 11 local authority areas, with the intention to boost NHS dental access for patients and in particular, encourage a higher take-up of dental check-ups for children aged up to two.

The activity is part of a wider national initiative designed to increase access for this age group by promoting earlier prevention.

NHS England said given that dental disease was now the most common reason for hospital admissions for children aged five to nine years old, the NHS was working hard to address this locally and nationally.

Rebecca Woods, Head of Primary Care for NHS England in Staffordshire and Shropshire said: 'This investment in dental services is really positive news for patients of Staffordshire and Shropshire and we are working closely with our Local Dental Network which includes dental providers across the local NHS, local authority, Public Health England's Consultant in Dental Public Health and NHS England commissioners to improve local dental services and promote earlier prevention at local level.'

Sara Hurley, Chief Dental Officer for England, said: 'We are currently seeing a cavity crisis in pre-school children which is leading to entirely avoidable tooth extractions. Regular visits to your dentist from a very early age is key to developing habits that lead to a lifetime of good oral health. We are providing additional support to dentists to help them see more infants so that these painful and distressing interventions can be reduced.

'Latest data show over 140 children per day are having decayed teeth removed. These statistics are now being tackled head on with a newly launched awareness programme supporting dentists across England to see more children from a young age and infants by age one.'