SADLY the current Conservative MP can’t handle the tooth…and neither can his government claims Labour candidate, Chris Vince.

Mr Vince said: “This week the Conservative MP for Harlow wrote to this publication declaring his government’s NHS dentistry recovery plan, failing to recognise that his government has been in power for 14 years and that it is only in need of recovery because of his own government’s failure.

What he also fails to mention is that he voted against a motion to support NHS dentistry on Tuesday. The text of which is below. This despite the fact that of the Harlow dental surgeries who provided a recent update in the East of England, 83% are not seeing new adult patients.

The collapse of NHS dentistry has left millions of patients unable to get an appointment when they need one. Analysis of patient survey data suggests that last year, 4.75 million people were either told there were no appointments available or the practice wasn’t taking on new patients, when they last tried to book an appointment. Healthwatch England has reported horror stories of people forced to pull their own teeth out, with 1 in 10 Brits claiming to have attempted their own dental work. A recent report from the Nuffield Trust warned that, under the Tories, NHS dentistry “is at its most perilous point in its 75-year history,” and suggested that it may no longer be offered to all patients. The government has launched a pilot in Cornwall where NHS dentistry will only be offered to children and the most vulnerable.

Chris Vince, Labour and Cooperative candidate for Harlow at the next general election said:

“The Conservatives think that people in Harlow should be happy with the poor service we have today. Another five years of the Conservatives will see NHS dentistry gone for good.

“Labour has a plan to rescue NHS dentistry from this crisis and get patients seen on time again. We will pay for it by abolishing the non-dom tax status, because people who live and work in Britain should pay their taxes here too.”