Millions of adults in England continue to face unmet need for NHS dentistry despite a fall in the number of people unable to secure an appointment, according to analysis of the latest GP Patient Survey by the British Dental Association (BDA).
Figures from the Ipsos research highlighted by the BDA show 13.3 million adults experienced unmet need for NHS dentistry in 2026 –- meaning those who had tried and failed to get an NHS appointment, or didn’t attempt to get one as they thought they wouldn’t be able to get one.
This is compared with 13.8 million in 2025.
The latest figure is equivalent to more than one in four adults and well above pre-pandemic levels, when unmet need was around one in 10.
According to the analysis, 4.9 million adults had tried and failed to obtain an NHS dental appointment in the previous two years, down from 5.7 million a year earlier.
However, the number of people who said they had not attempted to get an NHS dental appointment because they did not think they would be able to secure one rose by 300,000 to 6.2 million.
A further 860,000 people said they were on a waiting list for NHS dental care, while 1.3 million reported that NHS dental treatment was too expensive.
Overall, the BDA estimated total unmet need had fallen by around 500,000 year on year.
With Andy Burnham widely tipped to become the next prime minister in a matter of weeks, the association called on his administration to show 'real urgency and ambition' for NHS dentistry.
The BDA observed that Burnham began a process of reform as health secretary in 2009, but '17 years later that same system is still in place'.
This, said the association, reflects the 'casual indifference of successive governments’.
BDA chair Dr Eddie Crouch commented: 'Tweaks at the margins and unfunded gimmicks have barely scratched the surface. A new administration must deliver real reform.'