Our position on NHS dentistry

News - 8 July 2024

Communities across England have made it clear that NHS dentistry needs to be fixed – so it’s affordable and accessible. Read more about our evidence and what changes we’re calling for the NHS and Government to make.

Access to NHS dental care continues to be one of the main issues we hear about from the public and in extreme cases, some people take matters into their own hands and do their own dental work.

The new Labour Government has proposed a Dentistry Rescue Plan, which has the potential to improve access to NHS dental appointments in the short-term. But in the long-term, we believe more fundamental reforms are needed.

Our recommendations

Fundamental reform of NHS dentistry, to give the public a right to register with a local NHS dentist, in the same way as they can with a GP, to access ongoing check-ups and appointments.
Greater protection of ring-fenced NHS dental budgets that are held by Integrated Care Boards (ICB).
Involvement by ICBs of local Healthwatch and communities in shaping local NHS dental services and informing roll-out of new initiatives.
Publicity campaigns targeted at people most in need on how they can access the 700,000 extra NHS appointments being offered under the Dentistry Rescue Plan.
Regular national updates published on the impact of the Dental Rescue Plan.
Greater promotion of NHS dental charge exemptions and the NHS Low Income Scheme to ensure people aren’t put off seeking help because of cost.
Full compliance by practices with their contractual duty to update their NHS availability on the NHS website.
More joined-up schemes between dental practices, GP surgeries, schools, and other services to to deliver prevention and link oral health to other issues, such as smoking cessation.

Our evidence

We have carried out a number of national polls and analysed the evidence shared with our network of 153 local Healthwatch. Key findings are listed below in chronological order:

21% of people we surveyed in a cost-of-living poll in January 2024 were put off going to the dentist because of cost. This was up from 15% in March in a similar poll in 2023.
69% of people who accessed private dental care in the past 12 months had no dental insurance, according to our findings in November 2023.
Disabled people and those with long-term health conditions were more likely to avoid going to the dentist because of the cost, according to January 2023 findings.
Four in five people struggled to access NHS dentistry between April 2020 and September 2021, according to analysis of experiences reported by more than 8,000 people to Healthwatch.
Seven out of 42 Integrated Care Board areas had no dental practices taking on new NHS adult patients, according to analysis we conducted between April and December 2021.
61% of people we polled in February 2021, felt that NHS dental treatment was expensive.
73% of people who contacted Healthwatch between July and September 2020 found it difficult to access dental help and support when needed it, compared to 11% who could access it easily.

Our action

We have heard about problems with NHS dentistry ever since Healthwatch launched in 2013 and published our first major report on the topic in 2016. The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated access problems and prompted us to launch an #fixNHSdentistry campaign.

Following our high-profile campaigning, NHSE announced some dental contract changes in 2022, including a new contractual duty on NHS dental contractors to regularly update their NHS availability on the NHS website.

In 2023 a national and local Healthwatch representative gave evidence in person to the 2023 inquiry held by the House of Commons Health and Social Care Committee. The final inquiry report concluded that there was an access crisis and that “Everyone should be able to access and NHS dentist when they need one, wherever they live”.

We were invited by the previous Conservative Government to attend ministerial roundtables examining ideas for long-term contract reform in early 2024.

From 5 July 2024 onwards, we are sharing our latest evidence with the incoming Labour Government and will continue to work constructively with Department of Health and Social Care officials, and NHS England's Chief Dental Officer, as they prepare to implement the Rescue Plan and consider longer term reforms.