Within the profession there is a growing suspicion that getting DIY dentistry stories off of the headlines is the driving aspiration of The Department of Health and Social Care, and has shaped the latest set of reforms.
No commentsRead more: The Press and Healthwatch Digest Contract Reforms
There is one area where the GDC can be relied upon by registrants and the public. One where our regulator can be trusted to perform consistently time after time, with predictable outcomes that are all but guaranteed.
Read more: GDC Reported to Wes Streeting – By Their Regulator
The National Centre for Social Research (NatCen) founded in 1969, is the largest independent and not-for-profit social research organisation in the UK. It‘s report on the most recent Adult Oral Health Survey (AOHS) makes for depressing reading.
Read more: The Nation’s Oral Health is Making Progress – Backwards
It is a safe bet that Minister for Care Stephen Kinnock does not lay awake at night worrying what GDPs will make of the reforms to the NHS dental contract. How it is received by influential stakeholders and the press will be of more interest.
Read more: Lukewarm Response to Vague NHS Contract Proposals
The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) have announced what they describe as “A major boost for millions of NHS Dental patients.” The newly published reforms are described as “the most significant modernisation of the NHS dental contract in years”
The Financial Times wrote about the UK dental scene in the summer of 2025 with a glowing story about the University of Suffolk CIC. Now they have focussed their attention onto the workforce challenges in a feature entitled: “Why Britain doesn‘t have enough dentists.”
As His Majesty‘s Opposition in the House of Commons begin to emerge from their post-election doldrums, one sign of renewed confidence is that the Conservatives have begun to talk about dentistry.
Dental anxiety remains a major barrier to routine attendance and preventive care, with auditory triggers—particularly the characteristic high-frequency noise of the high-speed handpiece—playing a significant role for many patients. The acoustic profile of the turbine handpiece, often described by patients as a high-pitched, aversive whine, has long been recognised anecdotally in clinical practice but has received comparatively little rigorous scientific study.
The £20000 ‘Golden Hello‘ scheme was set up to provide an appealing incentive that would encourage dentists to go and work in some of the "dental deserts" where NHS care was not available.