
Access to NHS dentistry is uneven across England, according to new data analysing A&E visits, staff turnover and access to dentists.
There were around 26.2 full-time equivalent (FTE) dentists per 100,000 people in England as of March 2024. The east of England (24.3) and the south west (24.4) recorded the lowest figures, while London (27.6) and the north west (27.8) had the highest.
The data also shows that 32% of adults in the south west had been seen by a dentist in the last two years as of March 2024, compared to 44% in the north east and north west. This suggests that higher staff numbers are linked to better dental service provision.
Similarly, there were around 86.8 FTE dental care professionals per 100,000 people in England, compared to 79.3 in London and 96.3 in the north west.
In addition, the data shows that areas with lower access have a higher number of people visiting A&E with dental problems. In the south west, which had one of the lowest number of FTE dentists per 100,000 people, one in every 460 people went to A&E with a dental problem in 2023/24.
This is significantly higher compared to London, one of the best areas for FTE dentists, where one in every 860 visited A&E for dental problems.
Vacancy and turnover
Looking at vacancy rates for fully qualified dentists, the workforce data found that the south west had the highest with 22% while London had the lowest with 15%.
While most regions had one dentist join the workforce for every dentist that left in 2023/24, every region saw more dental nurses leave the workforce than enter it. This was worst in the south west which saw two dental nurses leave for every one that joined.
This data suggests that staff numbers and turnover are linked to access to a dentist, with the south west seeing high vacancy rates and a low number of dentists and people being seen by one. Likewise, London had fewer vacancies and a higher number of people seeing a dentist.
However, Dr Sonja Stiebahl, a House of Commons Library statistician, makes clear that the number of people seeing a dentist in London was still not particularly high. Stiebahl believes this indicates that dental staffing levels are not the only factor in dental access, and there may be differences in need.
In addition, the presence of dentists does not always directly link to NHS treatment availability. This is because practices can provide both NHS and private services, and they may not always be open to NHS patients.
On average, practices with some NHS activity were open for just under eight hours per day on weekdays, but they were open for NHS activity between 80% to 89% of this time. With this in mind, the proportion of time dental chairs were used for NHS activity was significantly lower. The south west had the lowest with just 60%, while the north east and Yorkshire had the highest at 77%.

‘We could lose NHS dentistry’
This comes as the number of NHS dentists in Norfolk has hit a five-year low.
Data shows that there are just 329 dentists working in the country as of 2024. In addition, 42 people left the profession between 2023 and 2024, while 33 joined.
Dr Andy Bell is the vice-chair of the Norfolk Local Dental Committee. He said: ‘All this means that more and more patients are being given to fewer dentists, who have to soak up the workload and do more with the same amount of time. We could lose NHS dentistry here.
‘We were promised a lot by the Labour Government, but we need a new dental contract and a fully funded sector – one that means dentists are fairly paid for the work they do, that goes beyond tweaks to the existing restrictions.
‘Clinically within the contract, it’s very limited. You are given a certain amount of activity and that’s it. Beyond that, if you do three or twenty fillings you are getting paid exactly. That’s something that doesn’t make NHS dentistry an attractive industry to be in.’
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