Health Minister Stephen Kinnock unveiled plans to increase dental charges by 2.3% to fund provision of care – but dentists accused the Government of ‘reheated austerity’
The cost of basic NHS dental care will rise in April in fresh misery for patients.
Health Minister Stephen Kinnock unveiled plans to increase charges for dental patients by 2.3% to fund provision of care. But the British Dental Association (BDA) accused the Government of imposing stealth cuts on millions of patients, branding the hike “reheated austerity”.
Children, pregnant women, most veterans and people who receive certain benefits can get free NHS dental care. But everyone else must pay based on the type of treatment they need.
People who need basic care such as check-ups or X-rays will pay £27.40, up from £26.80. Band 2 care, which includes fillings, tooth extraction or root canal treatment, will cost £75.30, up from £73.50. And people who need dentures, bridges, crowns or braces will need to pay £326.70, up from £319.10.
Shiv Pabary, chair of the BDA’s General Dental Practice Committee, said: “This hike is reheated austerity. It won’t put a penny into a struggling service. Our patients are paying more, just so ministers can pay less. Rachel Reeves will need to justify her stealth cuts to millions of patients.”
The Mirror has been campaigning to fix the broken dentistry system, which has left people forced to pull out their own teeth because they can’t access an NHS dentist. More than 12 million people were unable to access NHS dental care last year – more than 1 in 4 adults in England.
The BDA launched a petition with 38 Degrees, calling for the hike to be abandoned and urging ministers to come up with an alternative funding plan for NHS dentistry.
Matthew McGregor, chief executive at 38 Degrees, said: “Families across the country will be bracing themselves today at the news that they’ll soon be hit by a health bill hike during this ongoing cost of living crisis – and that’s if they’re lucky enough to even have access to an NHS dentist in the first place.
“It’s the wrong move at the wrong time – especially as the extra price tag won’t result in the improvements in dental care so many of us are desperate for.”
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Our 3 demands
Everyone should have access to an NHS dentist
More than 12 million people were unable to access NHS dental care last year – more than 1 in 4 adults in England. At the same time 90% of dental practices are no longer accepting new NHS adult patients. Data from the House of Commons Library showed 40% of children didn’t have their recommended annual check-up last year.
Restore funding for dental services and recruit more NHS dentists
The UK spends the smallest proportion of its heath budget on dental care of any European nation. Government spending on dental services in England was cut by a quarter in real terms between 2010 and 2020. The number of NHS dentists is down by more than 500 to 24,151 since the pandemic.
Change the contracts
A Parliamentary report by the Health Select Committee has branded the current NHS dentists’ contracts as “not fit for purpose” and described the state of the service as “unacceptable in the 21st century”. The system effectively sets quotas on the maximum number of NHS patients a dentist can see as it caps the number of procedures they can perform each year. Dentists also get paid the same for delivering three or 20 fillings, often leaving them out of pocket. The system should be changed so it enables dentists to treat on the basis of patient need.
Have you had to resort to drastic measures because you couldn’t access an NHS dentist? Are you a parent struggling to get an appointment for a child? Email [email protected] or call 0800 282591
Adrian Ramsey MP, Green Party co-leader, said: “NHS dentistry is utterly broken. Make no mistake, this 2.3% rise in dental charges from 1 April 2025 is, in effect, a cut in services.
“It will not help dentists or services, let alone deliver for patients. This increase won’t solve the root problems of the crisis in dentistry, nor will it stop the exodus of dentists from the NHS.
“The Government must immediately step in and provide adequate central funding for dentistry combined with a review of the dental contract to make it economic for dentists to work in the NHS.”
In a written statement to MPs, Mr Kinnock said: “The Government’s ambition is to make sure that everyone who needs a dentist can get one. On Friday 21 February 2025, we launched the rollout of the extra 700,000 urgent dental appointments promised by the Government in its election manifesto.”
The new appointments will be targeted at so-called dental deserts, where patients struggle to get care because there aren’t enough dentists.