Dentists quitting the NHS have increased by a third in the past four years. The crisis in accessing NHS dentists is laid bare in new data which also shows one in seven in England are nearing retirement age. The House of Commons Library research shows over 2,000 dentists left the NHS in 2022/23, up from 1,516 in 2018/19.
A further 3,532 dentists are nearing retirement age in England and in some areas this is as many as one in three dentists. Ed Davey, leader of the Lib Dems , which commissioned the research, said: “Across the country, millions of people are going without basic dental care, with many even turning to pulling their own teeth out due to the lack of services. It is an utterly appalling situation that has to be brought to an end.
The Conservative government has pushed dentistry to the brink and it is children and parents who are paying the price of their neglect. Years of this Conservative government kicking the can down the road is creating an exodus of dentists from the NHS.” The Mirror has launched the Dentists for All campaign demanding NHS dentistry is rescued.
Our online petition has now reached 222,000 signatures. It comes as most dentists in England are no longer taking on new NHS patients due to a “flawed” payment system and a decade of underfunding. Currently if an NHS dentist treats more patients than their NHS contract target then they receive no payment for it - effectively capping the numbers able to access a dentist.
This total NHS dentistry b.