More children seeing NHS dentists

Latest NHS dental figures show that there has been a small rise in the number of adults and children being seen by NHS dentists, which has been cautiously welcomed by associations representing dental healthcare workers.

At the end of March 2026, 18.8 million adult patients had seen an NHS dentist in the previous two years, an increase of 1.5% since 2024-2025 figures.

Meanwhile 7.17 million children were seen in the 12 months to 31 March 2026, a 3.5% increase on the previous year. Overall courses of treatment increased by 6% for adults to 25 million, and by 7% for child patients to 13 million from the year before.

The British Society of Paediatric Dentistry (BSPD), the national Society dedicated to improving the oral health of children and young people, responded to the new dental data from NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA). The Society acknowledged that it is good to see improvements overall but that there is still much work to be done to ensure that the most vulnerable children, and in particular those who live in areas with the least access to NHS dental care, get the care and treatment they need.

Dr Oosh Devalia OBE, BSPD President, said:

“These figures are encouraging in places. Nearly 13 million courses of treatment were delivered to children last year, a rise of 7%, and 60% of children in England were seen by an NHS dentist. That is a credit to teams working under real pressure. However, we can also see from the new statistics how geographically uneven the delivery of dentistry is.

“Across all patients, urgent treatment has risen by more than 8%. This reverses three years of decline, and in the most deprived communities it now accounts for 14% of all courses of treatment compared with 8% in the least deprived. Too many people, children among them, are reaching a dentist when in pain rather than in good time. We need a prevention approach to be properly funded.

“The workforce data tells the same story. Some areas have more than twice as many NHS dentists per head as others, and the proportion of children seen ranges from 67% in the best served areas to 41% in the least. A child’s chance of seeing a dentist should not be based on a postcode lottery. BSPD will keep pressing for a contract that works for children and is directed to the communities who need it most.”

“Whilst the figures are an improvement, there is still work to do.”

The Association of Dental Groups (ADG), the UK’s leading trade body for dental groups delivering patient care across NHS, private and community‑based dentistry, welcomed the updated data from NHSBSA Dental Statistics. The new statistics show an increase in the delivery of NHS dental courses of treatment across adult and child populations in England.

Neil Carmichael, Executive Chair of the ADG, said:

“It is heartening to see a continued uplift in the number of courses of treatment delivered. NHS delivery in England has increased and markedly so. To see that in 2025/26, courses of treatments for adult patients increased by 6% and by 7% for children is good news. This data is in contrast to the analysis from the Nuffield Trust. NHS dentistry is still delivered by most dentists. Our dental groups are proud to be providing NHS dental care to patients who need it. The ADG celebrates NHS dentistry and we salute the dentists and dental care professionals who are making this happen.”

Key statistics in the new data show that in 2025/26, courses of treatment (COTs) for adult patients increased by 6% to 25 million, and by 7% for child patients to 13 million. Out of the total COTs delivered in 2025/26, 61% were for band 1 treatments, and 11% were for urgent treatments.

There were 18.8 million adult patients seen in the 24 months to 31 March 2026. In the 12 months to 31 March 2026, there were 7.17 million child patients seen. This was 40% of the national mid-year adult population for England in 2025, and 60% of the mid-year population for children. In 2025/26, there were 43 dentists per 100,000 population in England. The number of dentists per 100,000 population varies across England by Integrated Care Board (ICB).

Within the NHSBSA data, however, there is a reminder of the existence of’ ‘Dental Deserts’, where there are geographical pockets of particular need, and a shortage of dentists to deliver against this. But these overall ‘green shoots’ of improvement bring optimism as we see NHS delivery increase.

Neil Carmichael continued:

“We do also need to address the context that there are more registered dentists than ever before who are only working part-time. ⁠⁠This and the overall NHS budget squeeze, with inflation and inadequate increases from the Treasury are putting pressure on the system.

“Whilst the figures are an improvement, there is still work to do. The ADG will be looking at how to address this in a forthcoming policy paper.”