Twenty-four per cent of people left without NHS dental appointment

The ‘NHS England GP Patient Survey 2024’ has revealed the extent of the NHS dental crisis in England.

Analysis of the survey conducted among patients aged 16 or over registered with a GP practice in England discovered a widespread lack of availability of NHS dental services.

The analysis by Broadstone, an independent employee benefits and insurance consultancy, found that nearly one-in-four (24 per cent) people, or an estimated 6.2m people, who tried to get an NHS dental appointment in the last two years could not.

When this group were asked why they failed to get one, the majority (42 per cent) said that the dentist was not taking new patients and a third (36 per cent) said there were no appointments available.