Dental Services
The question
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of trends in the level of regional disparities in access to NHS dental appointments.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock
Access to National Health Service dental services continues to vary across regions. The Government has committed to improving access to NHS dental services, particularly in areas with historically lower levels of provision.
The percentages of adults and children seen by an NHS dentist in the 24 months to March 2025 across the seven NHS regions of England are available at the following link:
https://opendata.nhsbsa.net/dataset/dental-activity-data-england-july-2023-to-october-2025
Between April and October 2025, 1.8 million more NHS dental treatments were delivered than during the corresponding period prior to the general election. While this has helped to address some regional disparities in access, including an 11% increase in NHS dental activity in the East of England, challenges remain in some parts of the country. We are aware of the challenges faced in accessing a dentist, particularly in more rural and coastal areas. Integrated care boards (ICBs) are continuing to make use of the Golden Hello scheme to encourage dentists to work in those areas that need them most.
The Government is committed to ensuring that people can access urgent dental care when they need it. During 2025/26, ICBs commissioned additional urgent dental appointments and there is now an urgent care safety net available in all areas of the country. From April 2026, dentists are now required to deliver a set number of urgent dental appointments each year.
We are committed to fundamentally reforming the dental contract before the end of this Parliament.
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