Most NHS dental practises in Britain are not accepting new adult patients

Most of the National Health Service (NHS) dental practises in Britain were not accepting new adult patients for treatment. This shocking revelation was made by a survey jointly conducted by the BBC and the British Dental Association (BDA).

The survey had identified a total of 8,533 dental practises throughout Britain that were supposed to have NHS contracts. During the survey, all the identified NHS dental practises were called.

As per the survey report, 91% of NHS practises throughout England were not offering appointments to new adult patients. In the East Midlands, a total of 4,933 out of 5,416 NHS dental practices, i.e., 97%, were not taking patients. The figure was 98% for the South West, Humber, North West and Yorkshire.


Among those NHS dental services that were not taking new adult patients, 23% of the services said that they had an open waiting list, while 16% said that the waiting time was around a year or more.

The surveyor, BBC, approached 56 local authorities but could not find any practises that were accepting new adult NHS patients.

Apart from this, 79% of NHS practices, i.e., 4,293 out of 5,416, have not taken new child patients for treatment.

In Northern Ireland, the survey found that 90% of the dental practises were not treating new adult patients. This figure was 82% for Scotland and 93% for Wales.

BDA Chairman Shawn Charlwood stated that the NHS dental services in the UK were "at a tipping point." Charlwood said that millions of patients are not getting the necessary treatment. The chairman added that if the government does not bring reforms and funding to NHS dentistry, then the sector would die, and patients would pay the price.

According to the BDA, around 3,000 dentists have left the NHS since March 2020, and many more are expected to move away too.

Earlier, the BDA conducted a poll in England on 2,200 high-street dentists that revealed 45% of them had reduced their commitment toward NHS work since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.