The adult oral health survey showed a 13 percentage point rise in tooth decay between 2009 and 2013 after a significant decline between 1998 and 2009.

Liberal Democrat primary care spokesperson Helen Maguire said: ‘Dentistry is on its knees. In swathes of the country people simply cannot see an NHS dentist, and they are suffering with rotting teeth and oral health conditions as a result.'

The Liberal Democrats called on the Government to end ‘dental deserts' by introducing an emergency scheme to guarantee free NHS dental checkups for children and those most in need.

A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: ‘This Government inherited an NHS dental system decayed after years of neglect, and this survey is the proof.

‘We are working hard to turn things around by rolling out extra urgent dental appointments, reforming the dental contract to prioritise patients with the greatest need and launching our supervised toothbrushing programme for three- to five-year-olds.

‘There is more to do but this Government is determined to fix Britain's broken dental sector and fundamentally transform the way NHS dentistry is delivered.'

The DHSC said ICBs have been asked to commission extra urgent dental appointments to make sure that patients with urgent dental needs can get the treatment they require.

The appointments, which have been available since April 2025, are weighted at areas that need them most.