Two-thirds of family dentists in England plan to see fewer NHS patients, according to new polling, despite a growing access crisis. The British Dental Association (BDA) survey of 415 dentists found 63% will reduce the amount of NHS work they do, while only 1% plan to increase it.
The BDA is starting talks with officials from the Department of Health and Social Care on Tuesday, arguing that tweaks to the flawed NHS dental contract have so far had little impact. Just 10% of dentists believe these changes have made NHS dentistry better.
Dentists walking away
Shiv Pabary, chair of the BDA’s General Dental Practice Committee, said: “Fixing NHS dentistry remains unfinished business. Tweaks at the margins simply haven’t changed the fundamentals. Millions still have no options, and demoralised dentists are still walking away.”
“Before the last election Labour told us the cavalry was coming. The longer this profession is left to wait, the less of a service there will be left to save.”
The Mirror previously spoke to dentist Tim Hodges, who told of his guilt at having to quit the NHS and go private because he was effectively doing NHS work “for free”. Last month, the Mirror revealed one in ten dental practices in England have abandoned their NHS contract and gone private since March 2017.
Funding shortfall
Labour has promised to reform the “flawed” NHS dental contract before the end of this parliament. But before Andy Burnham became Prime Minister, signals from the Treasury suggested there would be no additional funding of the scale required for substantial contract reform.
NHS dental funding for England remained at around £3 billion for more than a decade under Conservative governments, failing to keep pace with inflation and population growth. By the time the Tories left power, this funding was only enough to cover care for half the population. The BDA calculated they had overseen a £1bn real-terms funding cut.
During this period, the proportion of the NHS budget spent on dentistry fell from 3.3% in 2010 to just 1.5% in 2024, as dentists increasingly handed back their NHS contracts.
Talks with government
Labour increased the annual budget to £3.5bn for 2024/25, but the BDA said fundamental contract reform cannot be achieved without an extra £1.5 billion a year to restore NHS dentistry as a universal service for all who want it.
The Mirror has launched the Dentists for All campaign with the BDA to demand a return to universal NHS access for all who need it. The BDA will meet with government on Tuesday for the first time since Andy Burnham became PM and press officials on what additional funding it will provide.
The government continues to consult on contract reform, but in the meantime Labour has increased the number of emergency dental appointments by paying dentists more for them. Ministers also introduced supervised teeth brushing at schools in more deprived areas.
The government points to progress in overseeing 1.8 million extra courses of dental treatment between April and October 2025, compared with the corresponding seven-month period before the 2024 general election. The Department of Health and Social Care has been approached for comment.
