One million working age people go two years without seeing dentist

28 January 2025 Consultancy.uk

As the UK’s health system continues to struggle under huge demand and staff shortages, new research suggests patients are particularly hard hit when it comes to dentistry. According to Broadstone analysis, more than a million people have not seen a dentist since 2023.

Recent years have seen the UK’s National Health Service underfunded and inadequately staffed – leading to waiting lists stretching to their worst levels in decades. With the legacy of the Covid-19 pandemic also putting pressure on those services, citizens who can afford to pay for healthcare have increasingly been going private to expedite their care.

Amid this crisis, Broadstone has been providing regular updates on the experiences of NHS patients across the UK. The latest of these has shown the dire state of dentistry on the NHS, revealing a worrying gap in dental care in certain regions and demographic groups.

One million working age people go two years without seeing dentist
Source: Broadstone

Broadstone analysed the latest ONS ‘Experiences of NHS healthcare services in England’ survey, and found that 5.9% of the English working population – those aged 16-64 – who have an NHS dentist or go to a dental hospital, had their last dental appointment more than two years ago. Extrapolated against the latest ONS population estimates, Broadstone contends that this is equivalent to approximately 1.2 million people.

As well as dental decay, gum disease, periodontal disease and tooth loss – all of which can be extremely painful – poor oral health has been linked to general health conditions. These include diabetes, strokes, cardiovascular disease and premature birth. Helping patients look after their teeth, gums and mouth is not only important to improving their general health, then, failing to do so could result in an even-higher level of demand for over-stretched NHS hospitals.

Despite the wider health risks associated with poor oral health and the importance of regular check-ups among this working cohort, the survey also revealed that 12.0% of all English residents – or 5.7 million people – claimed not to have a dentist at all. Of those, approximately 4.9 million people are between 16-64 years old.

Among those without a dentist, of the number who had tried to make an NHS appointment in the last 28 days, 81.2% were unsuccessful. When asked what their follow up action was, 75.6% said ‘nothing’.

Emily Jones, client consulting director at Broadstone, said, “These findings shine a light on a growing and concerning issue around access to dentistry in England. It’s worrying to see that millions of people are going more than two years before seeing their dentist, potentially missing out on important oral cancer or gum disease checks. The data also demonstrates the significant numbers of people who don’t have a dentist and are struggling to access an appointment when they try.”

The top three regions with the lowest proportion of people with a dentist included the South West at 16.9%, the North East and Yorkshire at 13.7%, and East of England at 11.6%. Overall, urban cities and towns were those with the lowest rates of dental coverage – with 13% of people left without any dentist. With the important health impacts this could have on the working population, the researchers added that employers may need to factor the matter into their employee benefit offerings to avoid lost productivity.

Jones added, “Given this dental care gap, particularly among the working age population, many employers are now recognising the importance of including dental benefits as part of their healthcare offerings, supporting their employees wellbeing and productivity. There are few signs so far of the government making progress in improving access to NHS dentistry. It’s important therefore that, as employers adjust to higher national insurance and minimum wage costs, they don’t take their eye off the ball when it comes to the provision of healthcare benefits that improve access to care, promote overall health for the workforce, boost productivity and help reduce the strain on NHS services.”

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