THE Telegraph & Argus's Stop the Rot campaign has been praised as "brilliant" by Public Health Minister Steve Brine.

The T&A met with Mr Brine and Bradford South MP Judith Cummins, who has continued to press the issue of dentistry since her election in 2015, at the Houses of Parliament to highlight the campaign's ongoing work to tackle the dental and oral health inequalities Bradford faces.

Stop the Rot, which has received attention on both a local and national level, was launched in the face of dire statistics on oral health in the district.

Recent figures from Public Health England revealed that children starting primary school in Bradford have one of the highest rates of tooth decay in the country.

Based on a survey of 1,268 five-year-olds in Bradford in the 2016-17 academic year, tooth decay was found in nearly 40 per cent of children.

Mr Brine said: "It’s a brilliant campaign because anything that highlights dental health, children’s oral health, prevention, is good."

Following the announcement of a £20bn funding boost for the NHS, Mrs Cummins has vowed to push the Government to ensure Bradford gets its fair share.

Since its launch, the campaign has shone a spotlight on the thorny issue of the dental contract.

Under the current system, money known as 'clawback' is refunded when a practice does not achieve an agreed level of activity. But the system has come in for criticism and the British Dental Association, the union which represents dentists across the UK, is calling for a contract which puts prevention first.

When asked about the progress of a new contract, Mr Brine said: "The 70 practices which have been testing the preventative-focused approach have seen an increase in oral hygiene. Following recommendations made by the Evaluation Reference group, we are extending the approach to further practices to allow a further period of testing."

He added: "This will focus on remuneration as we want to introduce a scheme that is financially sustainable for the NHS and practices. If the continued testing demonstrates that the prototype approach can work for patients, practices and the NHS, then wider adoption will be considered."

One of the main aims of Stop the Rot is to increase access to NHS dentistry in Bradford. A check of the NHS Choices website shows that a number of dental surgeries are not currently accepting new adult NHS patients.

However, in early May it was announced that more than £330,000 would be ploughed into dentistry in Bradford, enabling over 3,500 new patients to access NHS dental services in the Bradford South and East wards.

When asked what steps are being taken to ensure those who need to access an NHS dentist in Bradford are able to do so, Mr Brine said that access to primary care dental services continued to increase nationally and that NHS England Yorkshire & Humber were "finalising plans to increase access in 20 areas considered to be the most in need of additional dental access".

On top of access issues, concerns have also been raised about dental charges. They rose again earlier this year, with dentists saying they are increasingly a stealth tax.

In response, Mr Brine said dental charges "remain an important contribution" to the overall costs of the NHS.

He added: "Increases are not automatic, they are carefully considered each year and take into account affordability for patients and any risk that patients would be deterred from seeking care."

The Minister highlighted that a low income scheme is in place to help patients with health costs and in 2016/17, 47 per cent of NHS treatments delivered to adults were for those who were fully or partially exempt from paying NHS dental charges.

Mrs Cummins said: "I will continue to keep the pressure on the Government to take action to tackle the crisis in children’s oral health in Bradford.

“This week saw the Government announcement that spending in the NHS will be increased. Whilst it’s not yet clear where the money will be coming from, I have pushed the Secretary of State to make sure dentistry and the NHS in Bradford gets its fair share of the £20bn funding announced.”