A petition signed by over 120,000 people, demanding the government save NHS dentistry, has been delivered to the Department of Health and Social Care.
A System in Crisis
The Mirror's 'Dentists for All' campaign, backed by the British Dental Association (BDA) and the group 38 Degrees, handed in the petition on November 12, 2025. It calls for immediate action to fix a system where the total £3 billion funding for dentistry in England is only sufficient for half the population to receive care. The Westminster government invests almost half as much per person in dental services for England compared to the devolved administrations in Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland.
Eddie Crouch, Chair of the BDA, stated: "We're yet to see a penny of new investment to stop the queues outside practices and end horrific Victorian scenes. Access and cost of living crises are colliding and government needs to step up." He warned that failure to act places immense strain on families, pushing them towards DIY dentistry.
The Human Cost of Underfunding
The scale of the problem is vast. A quarter of adults in England – approximately 14 million people – have an unmet need for dental treatment. A decade of real-terms budget cuts has led to a situation where most dentists no longer accept new adult NHS patients.
The personal toll is devastating. Monica Finlay, 68, from West Ham, east London, described her ordeal: "Having been unable to find an NHS dentist for years, I endured the agony of losing several teeth at home. They became so loose I had to pull them out myself." She recently paid privately to have seven teeth extracted and now waits for dentures, leaving her with just 11 teeth. "Dentistry shouldn't be a luxury," she said. "It's very distressing when you're ashamed to speak or smile."
Flawed System and False Economy
At the heart of the crisis is a flawed NHS dental contract that pays dentists the same fee regardless of whether a patient needs three fillings or twenty. This system makes it financially unviable for practices to treat patients with complex needs, causing a mass exodus of dentists to the private sector.
While plans for contract reform are underway, they are entirely dependent on a new funding settlement. The overall budget for NHS dentistry in England has been frozen at around £3 billion since 2010, representing a real-terms cut of over a third after inflation. Furthermore, the government's direct contribution has actually been cut by £20 million, with the shortfall made up by steep rises in patient charges. The cost for a pair of dentures, for example, has skyrocketed by £128 since 2010, now costing patients £327.
Matthew McGregor, CEO of 38 Degrees, emphasised the urgency: "The Government needs to properly fund NHS dentistry right now... unless the Government puts its money where its mouth is, millions of people across the UK will continue going without."
