NHS Dental Access by Area, England (June 2023)
Real NHS dental access rates for all 42 Integrated Care Boards β adults and children seen by an NHS dentist as a percentage of the population, with the Gera Dental Access & Activity Index.
What percentage of adults in England have NHS dental access, and which areas are best and worst?
As at June 2023, 40.7% of adults in England had been seen by an NHS dentist in the previous 24 months, ranging from 30.6% in Gloucestershire to 53.6% in South Yorkshire, per NHS Dental Statistics 2022-23 (NHS Digital, OGL v3.0). Gera re-dates annually.
| Measure | Value | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| National adult dental access rate | 40.7% | Adults seen by NHS dentist in previous 24 months |
| Highest ICB adult access | 53.6% | South Yorkshire (GDAAI: 100/100) |
| Lowest ICB adult access | 30.6% | Gloucestershire (GDAAI: 0/100) |
| Total ICBs covered | 42 | All English Integrated Care Boards |
| Data reference date | 30 June 2023 | NHS Dental Statistics 2022-23 |
Check NHS dental access in your area
Select your Integrated Care Board to see its real NHS dental access rate vs the England average.
Select your ICB area to see its NHS dental access rate, how it compares to the England average, and the Gera Dental Access & Activity Index.
Areas with the lowest NHS dental access (June 2023)
| ICB area | Adult access rate | Gera Dental Access Index |
|---|---|---|
| Gloucestershire | 30.6% | 0 / 100 |
| Surrey Heartlands | 32.5% | 8 / 100 |
| Cambridgeshire and Peterborough | 33.5% | 13 / 100 |
| Kent and Medway | 34.1% | 15 / 100 |
| North Central London | 34.5% | 17 / 100 |
| Bath and North East Somerset, Swindon and Wiltshire | 35.1% | 19 / 100 |
| South West London | 35.7% | 22 / 100 |
| Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire West | 36.2% | 24 / 100 |
| Hampshire and Isle of Wight | 36.3% | 24 / 100 |
| North East London | 36.3% | 24 / 100 |
Best-access ICBs: South Yorkshire (53.6%), Greater Manchester (48.0%), Coventry and Warwickshire (47.9%), Cheshire and Merseyside (46.4%), Black Country (46.1%).
NHS dental access by Integrated Care Board
- Bath and North East Somerset, Swindon and Wiltshire (35.1%)
- Bedfordshire, Luton and Milton Keynes (37.8%)
- Birmingham and Solihull (42.1%)
- Black Country (46.1%)
- Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire (40.7%)
- Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire West (36.2%)
- Cambridgeshire and Peterborough (33.5%)
- Cheshire and Merseyside (46.4%)
- Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly (36.5%)
- Coventry and Warwickshire (47.9%)
- Derby and Derbyshire (42.2%)
- Devon (37.6%)
- Dorset (38.8%)
- Frimley (40.2%)
- Gloucestershire (30.6%)
- Greater Manchester (48.0%)
- Hampshire and Isle of Wight (36.3%)
- Herefordshire and Worcestershire (37.3%)
- Hertfordshire and West Essex (42.9%)
- Humber and North Yorkshire (41.8%)
- Kent and Medway (34.1%)
- Lancashire and South Cumbria (41.4%)
- Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland (42.1%)
- Lincolnshire (38.1%)
- Mid and South Essex (44.8%)
- Norfolk and Waveney (39.0%)
- North Central London (34.5%)
- North East and North Cumbria (45.7%)
- North East London (36.3%)
- North West London (39.0%)
- Northamptonshire (37.0%)
- Nottingham and Nottinghamshire (42.1%)
- Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin (43.1%)
- Somerset (38.4%)
- South East London (40.6%)
- South West London (35.7%)
- South Yorkshire (53.6%)
- Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent (43.4%)
- Suffolk and North East Essex (37.2%)
- Surrey Heartlands (32.5%)
- Sussex (37.9%)
- West Yorkshire (45.8%)
Why is NHS dental access below 50% nationally?
NHS dental practices were required to close for all routine care from 25 March 2020 and only began reopening from June 2020. The backlog from the COVID-19 closure, combined with dentists leaving NHS contracts and slower-than-expected recovery activity, has reduced the national adult access rate from approximately 50% pre-pandemic to 40.7% as at June 2023. ICBs with higher GDAAI scores tend to have proportionally more NHS dental activity relative to their population.
The NHS England New Patient Premium (introduced March 2024) provides additional payments to dentists for seeing patients who have not had NHS dental treatment in the previous 24 months, which may improve access rates in subsequent annual NHS BSA publications.
Related NHS health data on GeraClinic
NHS dental access: frequently asked questions
- What percentage of adults in England are currently registered with an NHS dentist?
- NHS dental statistics use a rolling "patients seen" measure rather than registration. As at June 2023, 40.7% of adults in England had been seen by an NHS dentist in the previous 24 months, down from approximately 50% before the COVID-19 pandemic. This figure varies from 30.6% in Gloucestershire to 53.6% in South Yorkshire across England's 42 Integrated Care Boards.
- How do I find an NHS dentist that is accepting new patients?
- NHS England's online tool at nhs.uk/service-search/find-a-dentist lets you search by postcode for practices currently accepting new NHS patients. Availability varies by area β ICBs with lower Gera Dental Access & Activity Index scores tend to have fewer practices accepting new NHS patients. As at June 2023, only 40.7% of adults in England had seen an NHS dentist in the previous 24 months, indicating significant access constraints nationally.
- Which area in England has the best NHS dental access?
- As at June 2023, South Yorkshire had the highest NHS dental access rate in England at 53.6% of adults seen in the previous 24 months (Gera Dental Access & Activity Index: 100/100). Gloucestershire had the lowest rate at 30.6% (GDAAI: 0/100), per NHS Digital 2022-23 data.
- Why has NHS dental access fallen since 2020?
- NHS dental practices were required to close for routine care from 25 March 2020 and only began reopening from June 2020. The COVID-19 closure backlog, combined with dentists leaving NHS contracts and slower-than-expected recovery activity, drove the national adult access rate from around 50% pre-pandemic to 40.7% as at June 2023, per NHS Dental Statistics 2022-23 (NHS Digital, OGL v3.0).
- What is the Gera Dental Access & Activity Index (GDAAI)?
- The Gera Dental Access & Activity Index (GDAAI) is a 0β100 score computed for each of England's 42 ICBs. It is a direct min-max normalisation of the adult NHS dental access rate (adults seen by an NHS dentist in the previous 24 months as a % of the adult population). 100 = highest access in England (53.6%, South Yorkshire); 0 = lowest access (30.6%, Gloucestershire). Full formula at /nhs-dental-access/methodology.
- How often is NHS dental access data updated?
- NHS Digital (now NHS BSA) publishes NHS Dental Statistics for England annually, typically in August covering the prior financial year. The patients-seen-as-%-of-population figures used here are from the 2022-23 annual report, published 24 August 2023 (data as at 30 June 2023). Gera re-dates this cluster annually on each new NHS Digital / NHS BSA release.
Can't find an NHS dentist? GeraClinic can help.
Only 40.7% of adults in England have seen an NHS dentist in the past 24 months. While you search for a practice accepting new NHS patients, GeraClinic's UK-registered clinicians can provide dental triage, assess tooth pain and infection, and issue prescriptions online.
Contains public sector information published by NHS Digital / NHS England and licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: NHS Dental Statistics for England 2022-23 β Table 3e (Geographical Breakdown) (June 2023, published 24 August 2023).
Informational/educational only β not a substitute for professional medical advice; a clinician interprets results.