Save NHS dentistry NOW by reversing Tory stealth cuts - sign our petition

The Mirror is today demanding the Government reverses a decade of Tory cuts so people can get an NHS dentist again.

The £3 billion total funding for dentistry in England is currently only enough for half the population to see an NHS dentist when they need one. Our Dentists for All campaign is today launching a new petition calling for Prime Minister Keir Starmer to properly fund dental care to tackle our growing oral health crisis.

Official figures show a quarter of the adult population - or 14 million people in England - are living with an “unmet need” for dentistry. Per head of population, the Westminster government puts in almost half less into dental services than other parts of the UK.

SIGN OUR PETITION HERE!

READ MORE: Hundreds of Brits queue to register with NHS dentist sparking urgent warning

READ MORE: 'I called NHS dentists for 7 years but couldn't get in, so I pulled all my teeth out'

We are today launching an online petition with the British Dental Association (BDA) demanding the Government reverses a decade of Tory stealth cuts so people are no longer forced to rip their own teeth out.

BDA chair Eddie Crouch said: “Ministers have said NHS dentistry is at death’s door. That the horror stories we keep seeing are Dickensian.

“It’s all true. But if we’re going to save this service, we need them to put their money where their mouth is.”

Plans are underway to reform the “flawed” NHS dental payment contract which leaves dentists making a loss treating patients who need most care. It pays dentists the same if a patient needs three fillings as if a patient needs 20 fillings.

READ MORE: Dentist: ‘I feel guilty but I’m quitting the NHS to earn more going private’

READ MORE: Dentist being fined £150K by NHS for keeping patients' teeth too healthy

It has caused an exodus of NHS dentists to the private sector and means dental practices are no longer taking on new NHS patients However this contract reform will depend on the overall funding settlement.

The total budget for NHS dentistry in England has remained at around £3 billion since 2010, with no attempt to keep pace with inflation or population growth. The British Dental Association estimates that this has translated into a real-terms budget cut of over a third.

However when you dig deeper the figures show that rises in patient charges have masked cuts of £20 million to government funding for dentistry under the Tories, even before inflation.

The Government only contributes around £2.2 billion of the dentistry budget for England in direct funding. Holding down direct funding has come at the same time as above inflation rises in patient charges. For example, the charge for dentures has increased by £128 since 2010 with a pair now costing £327.

Matthew McGregor, chief executive of campaigning platform 38 Degrees, which is partnering with us in launching the petition, said: "NHS dentistry is in desperate need of a lifeline but government promises are only as good as the cash that make them happen.

"That's why 38 Degrees has once again joined forces with the British Dental Association and the Mirror. Together thousands of us living in every corner of the country will fight for the crucial funding to make the NHS dental care we all need a reality."

The Mirror launched the Dentists for All campaign in January 2024 after it became clear that a decade of Tory cuts had triggered a complete collapse in access. Our demands were to reform the dental contract and properly fund the service so that everyone who needs an NHS dentist can get one.

The Westminster government is responsible for direct funding for dental care in England as the NHS is a devolved matter for the other UK nations. Per head of population, the Westminster government puts in almost half less into dental services than other parts of the UK.

In 2022/23 government spend on NHS dentistry per head was £38 in England, compared to £57 in Wales, £59 in Northern Ireland and £73 in Scotland. And the UK has the lowest ratio of dentists per capita of any country in the G7.

Dentistry got 3.3% of the NHS budget for England in 2010, but it is now down to 1.5%.

READ MORE: 'NHS dental crisis means I've been pulling out my own teeth for 8 years'

READ MORE: 'I pulled my own tooth out with a pipe wrench because of the unbearable toothache'

Labour has promised to spend a greater proportion of the NHS budget on primary care but while GPs have benefited no increase has been committed for dentistry.

Evidence by dentistry minister Stephen Kinnock to the Health Select Committee earlier this year suggested the Treasury is refusing to fund radical reform and that the total dentistry budget for England would stay roughly the same.

Care minister Kinnock said any new contract will likely recycle current "underspends" where dentists have to return cash due to the flawed contract. Last year the BDA said there was £400 million underspend - much of which was quietly being syphoned off to other areas of the NHS.

Responding to the Mirror today, Mr Kinnock said: “This government inherited a broken NHS dental system after years of neglect, but we are getting on with fixing it through our Plan for Change. We have already begun the rollout of 700,000 extra urgent dental appointments, and we are reforming the NHS dental contract, with a shift to focus on prevention and the retention of NHS dentists - including introducing tie-ins for newly-qualified dentists.

“We are also rolling out supervised tooth brushing for three-to-five year-olds in the most deprived communities and have partnered with industry to provide millions of free dental products to families, because prevention is better than cure.”