Number of NHS dentists falls by 10 per cent in under a decade

See more Daily Mail on Google - save us as a Preferred Source Published: 13:02 EDT, 24 August 2026 | Updated: 13:02 EDT, 24 August 2026 At least 600 dental practices have abandoned the NHS in the past decade, research shows.It means the number of dentists working for the service has dropped by almost 10 per cent, leaving patients with nowhere to turn.And as so-called ‘dental deserts’ take hold across England, experts have warned that finding care has become ‘impossible’ in many areas.Since 2017, the number of practices has actually risen by more than 400 to 10,160.However, only 56 per cent offer NHS services - a 9 per cent drop, according to the Nuffield Trust think tank which conducted the research.Of the practices that have abandoned their NHS contract, 135 have done so since 2024 - the year Labour came to power.‘NHS dental care is hard to find in England, if not impossible,’ the researchers declared in a report released yesterday.They found that six in ten adults have not seen an NHS dentist in two years, and just 38 per cent of those who tried to book a new patient appointment have been successful. The number of NHS dental contracts fell from around 6,260 in March 2017 to 5,650 this yearMeanwhile, the number of visits paid to NHS dentists is 8 per cent lower than it was before the pandemic.At all but one of England’s 42 integrated care boards, NHS numbers have fallen in the past decade.The South West and East of England have experienced the steepest declines, while private dentistry in the same areas has boomed.In Cornwall, for example, more than a quarter of practices that previously offered NHS treatment have stopped doing so.The report states: ‘Dental capacity has not disappeared from these places, but it has moved beyond the reach of anyone who cannot pay for it.’NHS dental contracts fell from around 6,260 in March 2017 to 5,650 this year.Meanwhile, the number of practices operating without one of these contracts - meaning they only provide private or specialist NHS services - has boomed by almost 1,000.Many dentists have handed back their contracts because they lose money taking on NHS patients.In March it emerged that practices have given more than £900million back to the Government in the past two years after they failed to meet NHS targets.Nuffield Trust policy analyst Mark Dayan said: ‘As the Government delivers the contract reform it has promised, it will face a stark choice.‘Either it makes NHS work attractive enough to turn this trend around and bring back enough practices to cover everyone, or it will need to give up on the promise of a universal service and prioritise those who need preventive care most, or do not have the money to pay privately.’BDA general dental practice committee chairman Shiv Pabary said: ‘The Department of Health needs to grasp that if it fails to fix and fund NHS dentistry, dentists will have no choice but to walk away.’The Government has pledged to introduce a requirement for newly qualified dentists to practice in the NHS for a minimum of three years.A spokesman for the Department of Health and Social Care said: ‘Too many people are struggling to get the dental care they need.‘We are changing the NHS dental contract to make NHS dentistry more sustainable and are training more dentists in areas where they are most needed.’