The British Dental Association has responded to new analysis from the Nuffield Trust showing the true scale of the exodus from the NHS.
Research shows one in ten dental practices in England, or 608 in total, have abandoned their NHS contracts since March 2017. This includes a loss of 135 NHS practices since 2024, the year Labour came to power.
The professional body has urged a new team at the Department of Health to double down, and deliver promised reform of NHS dentistry, together with sustainable funding. The government had originally pledged to put its vision of fundamental reform of the struggling service to public consultation ‘this summer’. While ministers have made tweaks to the discredited contract fuelling the crisis in the service, to date not a penny of new investment has been committed to the rebuild.
BDA analysis of official data published earlier this summer indicates that unmet need for NHS dentistry in 2025/26 remains near record highs, at well over 13 million, or over 1 in 4 of England’s adult population.
News comes as polling by Survation for the BDA’s campaign partners 38 Degrees found 68% of the public support fixing NHS dentistry through increased funding, with just 10% opposed.
Shiv Pabary, Chair of the British Dental Association’s General Dental Practice Committee said:
“What we’re seeing here is the direct result of choices made by successive governments.
“A new team at the Department of Health need to grasp that if they fail to fix and fund NHS dentistry, dentists will have no choice but to walk away.”
Veronica Hawking, Campaign Director at 38 Degrees, said:
“Over recent months, vast numbers of people have shared with us horrific stories after being unable to access a dentist, from developing abscesses to pulling out their own teeth.
“This data shows a shameful two-tier system, where people are forced to pay money they can’t afford or suffer with the pain, shame, and further complications that come from being denied vital NHS healthcare.
“Millions of people are relying on Andy Burnham’s government to act now and fix this crisis.”
The latest 38 Degrees petition on dentistry can be found here.
© Community Trade Union 2026
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