New research has exposed a stark postcode lottery in children's dental care across the UK, with four in ten youngsters not seeing a dentist for at least a year.
A Nationwide Dental Desert
Grim analysis by the Liberal Democrats, covering the 12 months to June 2025, shows that 40% of children went without a dental check-up. The situation is even more severe over a two-year period, with at least 40% of kids in three-quarters of local areas not receiving dental care.
The disparity between regions is severe. In Nottinghamshire, 35% of children had not seen a dentist in two years, while in Somerset the figure more than half at 56%. For adults, the crisis is deeper, with some 60% going without care for two years or more.
A Ticking Time Bomb for Health
The party's primary care spokeswoman, Helen Maguire, labelled the findings a "ticking time bomb for the NHS and for children’s health in particular." She warned that families are being forced into private care or dangerous alternatives due to the collapse of accessible NHS dentistry.
Millions are unable to register with an NHS dentist, leading to reports of people resorting to DIY dentistry at home or turning to overstretched A&E departments for emergency pain relief.
Plans and Responses to the Crisis
The Liberal Democrats have proposed a £750 million dental rescue plan aimed at ending 'dental deserts'. Their strategy includes reforming the NHS dental contract to attract practitioners back from the private sector and launching an emergency scheme. This would guarantee free check-ups for children, new mothers, pregnant women, and those on low incomes.
This follows sustained campaigning, including The Mirror's 'Dentists for All' campaign. In a recent development, the government announced that from April 2026, dentists in England will be paid more to treat urgent NHS cases involving infections, severe pain, or trauma.
A Department of Health and Social Care spokeswoman stated: "This government inherited a broken NHS dental system and we are working at pace to fix it... We are also committed to modernising the dental contract to improve access, match resources to need and promote prevention."
