How easy is it to find an NHS dentist? It depends where you live

Hundreds of dentist practices are abandoning NHS work as the service drifts towards a two-tier system, new analysis suggests.

Data analysed by the Nuffield Trust found that nearly 600 practices in England have withdrawn from NHS dentistry over the last 10 years. The decline has been particularly sharp in parts of the South West and East of England, raising concerns about growing inequalities in access to care.

The analysis suggests more than one in 10 dental practices that once offered NHS care no longer do so, leaving it near impossible for some communities to find NHS appointments.

NHS dental activity is 8% lower than it was pre Covid, while six in 10 adults have not seen an NHS dentist in two years. Of those who attempted to get a new appointment in the last two years, just 38% were successful, according to a Nuffield Trust Survey.

Cornwall, Devon and Northamptonshire have seen some of the biggest reductions in the number of practices offering NHS care. In Cornwall, more than a quarter of practices that previously offered NHS treatment have stopped doing so, making it one of the starkest examples of the shift away from NHS dentistry.

The findings come as ministers have pledged to tackle so-called "dental deserts", but dentists say the current deal is not viable. Many have handed back their NHS contracts because to work is loss-making.

In Somerset, fewer than one in five dental practices now offers NHS services. Alan, 83, who lives in the county, says he has given up trying to find an NHS dentist.

"I used to try, but getting a dental appointment anywhere near where I live would be impossible," he says.