New parliamentary findings have revealed that more than half of the county's children are going without basic dental care.

Research by the House of Commons Library found that 57.3pc of children in Norfolk had not seen an NHS dentist in the past year. 

The county was one of 33 local authority areas across the country where more than half of the children had not seen a dentist, with the London borough of Hackney topping the list at 62.2pc. 

With 5.3 million children affected, the findings were published by the Liberal Democrats at their autumn conference in Brighton.

Daisy Cooper described the findings as a scandal.Daisy Cooper described the findings as a scandal. (Image: Matt Alexander/PA Media) Deputy leader Daisy Cooper called for an emergency dental registration scheme for children.

“It’s a scandal that across the country, millions of children are going without basic dental care,” Ms Cooper said.

“The previous Conservative government mismanaged NHS dentistry so badly that they presided over under-spends in the dentistry budget while children’s teeth were left to rot.

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“This appalling situation cannot go on and we are calling for an emergency registration scheme so that children who are eligible for free check-ups can actually access them, and for reform of the broken dental contract to bring more dentists back to the NHS and end the scandal of dental deserts."

According to the NHS, patients with good oral health will “probably need to attend only once every 12 to 24 months, but those with more problems will need check-ups more often”.

Norfolk has been described as a 'dental desert', where demand for NHS services far outstrips supply.

Last year, a survey found that Norfolk's five-year-olds have the highest prevalence of dental decay in the east of England with the King's Lynn and west Norfolk area among the worst affected in the country.

Other statistics show that more than 1,000 people had to attend Norfolk's A&E departments for dental care in 2023 because their health issues were so serious.

Local NHS bosses say efforts are being made to address the shortages.