MPs have raised urgent concerns about the growing NHS dental care crisis, with many areas across the country turning into “dental deserts.” Patients are often left with grim choices: pay exorbitantly for private treatment, forgo essential care, or resort to desperate measures such as pulling their own teeth.
During a Westminster Hall debate on May 22, Claire Young, Liberal Democrat MP for Thornbury and Yate, painted a stark picture of dental access in her constituency. She declared, “Thornbury and Yate is a dental desert,” highlighting that no NHS dentists in her area have accepted new NHS patients for three consecutive years. Residents are forced to travel long distances or pay privately for treatment.
Young revealed alarming statistics showing that in the South West, the NHS dental activity rate was only 61.6% as of September 2024, significantly lagging behind London’s 94.7%. This disparity has real consequences: roughly one in every 460 people in the South West needed A&E treatment for dental problems in 2023-24, compared to one in every 860 in London.
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The Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire integrated care board area represents one of the worst scenarios, suffering from fewer dentists per capita, reduced NHS dental activity, and higher emergency dental visits.
Devastating stories from constituents included a pregnant woman entitled to free NHS dental care who could not secure an appointment, and a cancer patient who had to pay thousands privately for critical dental work before radiotherapy. As Young said, “My constituent feels they have nowhere to turn.”
She called for an urgent government response, urging the introduction of an emergency scheme to guarantee free NHS dental check-ups for vulnerable groups, including children, pregnant women, new mothers, and low-income individuals. She also advocated for a comprehensive “dental rescue package” to encourage dentists back into NHS work.
Labour MP for Gloucester, Alex McIntyre, echoed these concerns, describing the NHS dental system as “broken.” He recounted how constituents cannot obtain timely appointments and shared distressing instances of people pulling out their own teeth due to lack of care. McIntyre recently launched a campaign to establish a new dental practice in Gloucester city and is actively engaging local health authorities and ministers.
While acknowledging progress in urgent dental care—with 11,000 new appointments added in Gloucestershire—McIntyre stressed the urgent need for regular, routine check-ups. He encouraged local dentists to participate in government consultations aimed at reforming the dental contract into a system that works for patients and practitioners alike.
Responding to the debate, Minister for Secondary Care Karin Smyth recognised the severity of the crisis, calling NHS dentistry “a matter of great concern.” She pledged comprehensive reforms to repair a system she described as having been “left in a state of decay” by years of Conservative mismanagement.
Smyth noted that while England boasts over 36,000 registered dentists, fewer than 11,000 full-time equivalents work within the NHS. Quoting a report by Lord Darzi, she stated: “There are enough dentists in England—just not enough willing to do NHS work.”
To tackle the crisis, the government is delivering on its manifesto pledge to provide 700,000 additional urgent dental appointments annually, allocated based on local needs. However, Smyth emphasised urgent care alone is insufficient, underlining a focus on prevention, especially among children.
To this end, over £11 million has been invested in a supervised toothbrushing programme targeting three to five-year-olds in deprived areas, aiming to reach up to 600,000 children each year. An innovative partnership with Colgate-Palmolive will supply more than 23 million toothbrushes and toothpaste tubes over five years, providing exceptional value for taxpayers.
Moreover, a major community water fluoridation expansion in north-east England, benefiting 1.6 million people, marks the first such initiative in decades.
On workforce issues, Smyth outlined plans to refresh the dental workforce strategy to ensure the NHS has the “right people in the right places with the right skills,” encompassing dentists, dental nurses, therapists, hygienists, and technicians. The government’s golden hello scheme aims to incentivise dental professionals to work in underserved areas.
Reforming the dental contract remains a key commitment, with the minister admitting it “could have been done sooner” but emphasised that progress is ongoing in collaboration with the British Dental Association and other stakeholders.
Smyth concluded with a realistic yet determined message: “There are no quick fixes and no easy answers, but people across the country deserve better access. NHS dentistry will not be rescued overnight. It will take time, investment, and reform, but improving access to NHS dentistry is key to our mission to get the NHS back on its feet and fit for the future.”