Heart-breaking. The human cost of political choices made in Westminster. The PM once said "we will get NHS dentistry back on its feet." With another reset planned, he can make sure we finally get the reform and resources to end these horrors.

"The Government has yet to commit a penny of new investment to underpin the rebuild of the service or extend access to those with no options," warns @eddiecrouch.bsky.social https://www.telegraph.co.uk/health-fitness/conditions/ageing/father-died-filled-own-tooth-couldnt-afford-dentist/

Thank you for our constructive discussion @sarahbool.bsky.social MP about how to ensure we keep dental practices in the NHS, and the impact of poor oral health on the outcomes of patients with diabetes and other conditions. @thebda.bsky.social

“Rachel Reeves chose to denigrate private dentists delivering high quality care to millions, rather than support colleagues providing NHS treatment," says @eddiecrouch.bsky.social https://www.bda.org/news-and-opinion/blog/no-evidence-of-price-gouging-but-plenty-for-government-cuts/

"Whoever forms the next administration in Cardiff Bay will inherit a service on the very brink," warns Russell Gidney. "They will need to put together a rescue package if NHS dentistry in Wales is going to have a future." https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cde562xpzg3o

Where next for dentistry in Scotland? Gillian Lennox on why the next Scottish Government must double down and future-proof services millions depend on. https://www.bda.org/news-and-opinion/blog/where-next-for-dentistry-in-scotland/

Absolute pleasure to meet @anneliesemidgleymp.bsky.social MP to discuss the reasons behind the dental access crisis, and what needs to be done to end it. Really looking forward to working with you to press for change your constituents desperately need. @thebda.bsky.social

Nice to meet @jacobcolliermp.bsky.social today on why the number of people accessing NHS dentistry in Staffordshire dropped by 30% since before the pandemic, and what needs to be done to turn things around for those struggling to access the care they need across the country. @thebda.bsky.social

Pleasure to meet @lisasmartmp.bsky.social in Parliament today to talk about the cost to both people’s health and wellbeing and to the wider economy of the failure to invest in NHS dentistry. Thank you for speaking up for those who can’t access the care they desperately need. @thebda.bsky.social

An important question from @adrianramsay.bsky.social MP, and we are yet to hear a clear answer. Recycling static budgets won't restore care to millions.

In the Department of Health's world do women have no mouths!? Oral health is invisible in their new women's health strategy. Millions of women continue to miss out. As patients, as parents, and as carers. Pregnant women remain unable to access free NHS dental care to which they're entitled.

Pleasure to meet today with @martinwrigley.bsky.social MP in Parliament.Thank you for speaking up for both dentists and patients, and setting out the huge societal cost of failing to properly fund NHS dentistry.

“The Govt is attempting to use this inquiry to pretend it is improving access and putting money back into voters’ pockets without spending a penny,” says @eddiecrouch.bsky.social More on the CMA investigation👇 telegraph.co.uk/money/consumer-affairs/broken-nhs-system-behind-britain-dental-crisis/

It really doesn't matter if you vote Farage or Polanski. The overwhelming majority of voters of every major party want to see more support for NHS dentistry. The profession & the public are on same page. This Govt needs to catch up. https://www.bda.org/news-and-opinion/blog/an-unhappy-birthday/

This isn’t a matter of right and left. It’s about right and wrong. Government can either fund NHS dentistry properly, or millions will lose it forever.

“NHS dentistry has faced 20 years of failed contracts and savage cuts," says @eddiecrouch.bsky.social “Tweaks are no substitute for fundamental reform and proper funding." "They can't keep a sinking ship afloat.” https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/health/dentists-nhs-funding-protest-government-36954146

Today we took a unhappy birthday message to Downing Street, co-signed by over 1,300 dentists and dental students. For 20 years failed contracts and savage cuts have pushed NHS dentistry to the brink. Tweaks and unfunded gimmicks won't cut it. We need real reform and fair funding.

📺Older dentists will remember the claims from 2006… 📚Some were at primary school when this contract landed. 📑20 years on and we’re all still living with a system that’s unfit for purpose. ✍️Dentists - co-sign this open letter to the PM and Health Secretary: https://bda.eaction.net/20yearsofhurt

“The whole system is just absurd and unfit for purpose," says Shiv Pabary. “The govt wants us to take on more high-risk patients, but if we do that then we lose money and that's the problem." Reform needs to go hand in hand with sustainable funding. https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cr41lg6ddelo

Patient charge hikes don't put an extra penny of new investment into NHS dentistry. It's health policy, designed by His Majesty's Treasury. https://www.bda.org/news-and-opinion/news/england-charge-hike-a-kick-in-the-teeth-for-millions-on-modest-incomes/

"Oral health is for the long term and I believe in getting some simple things right," wrote the late, great Prof Jimmy Steele in 2009. "If it can be done now we can build a national oral health service fit for the 21st century." Ministers need to catch up bda.eaction.net/20yearsofhurt

In 2006 Government was confident its reforms would "bring benefits to both patients and dentists." Experience proved otherwise. 20 years on we need a decisive break from targets, with proper funding. If you're a dentist in England, sign this birthday message. https://bda.eaction.net/20yearsofhurt

There's been no shortage of promises of change. But what we've ended up with is more of the same. As a failed contract turns 20, NHS dentistry needs real reform and fair funding. Sign our birthday message to Keir Starmer and Wes Streeting. https://bda.eaction.net/20yearsofhurt

Increasing dentist numbers... 📆Waiting lists ✈️Overseas applicants 🦷The existing workforce. We explore how the Government's latest plans could affect you. https://www.bda.org/news-and-opinion/blog/increasing-numbers-a-look-behind-government-plans-for-international-dentist-expansion/

Millions make a positive choice to go private. Those left without options, who have felt forced to go private, are there entirely because of choices made by the Treasury. https://www.theguardian.com/society/2026/mar/09/nhs-dental-crisis-private-dentist-patient-incease-england

It isn't 'abuse' when practices reflect the mounting costs of delivering dental care in their private fees. But when it comes to chronically underfunding a service millions depend on, Government might just meet the definition Our letter to the editor of @thetimes.com

A generation of dentists are now facing debts many will never repay. Read our open letter to Bridget Phillipson and Wes Streeting on why we need urgent reform of Plan 2 loans. https://www.bda.org/news-and-opinion/news/dental-graduates-left-drowning-in-debt-need-lifeline/

Compare and contrast... Savage cuts have left NHS dentistry hanging off its hinges. Double standards on funding mean promised reforms may well fail. Without needed investment we will see practices struggling to remain viable, and millions unable to access the care they need.

Thanks @libdems.org.uk and @helenmorganlibdem.bsky.social From think tanks to select committees, it’s very clear to everyone that’s looked at what’s really fuelling this crisis that fundamental reform must go hand in hand with sustainable funding. It’s not an either/or. @thebda.bsky.social

❗But happy enough to leave oral health at risk?! 📈Yes, prescription charges have been frozen, but dental charges continue to rise. 📉It's a stealth tax. Patients pay more just so ministers can pay less. 💷And there's no sign of the sustainable funding needed to give NHS dentistry a future.

What the evidence really says on 🇬🇧 British teeth vs the 🇺🇸 Hollywood Smile…

US 'experts' have described oral health in Britain as 'Third World'. 📈Yes, inequalities are widening. 🇺🇸But in the US working age adults are missing more teeth. 🇬🇧The UK Govt will decide whether we end up becoming an Austin Powers cliché. Our letter to the editor of @thetimes.com

It's either callousness or incompetence. Welsh Govt will be giving dentists the weekend to review the small print of a new contract. Patients will pay the price for the snap decisions they’ve forced on this profession. https://www.bda.org/news-and-opinion/news/wales-callousness-or-incompetence/

Government say cancer survival shouldn't be a postcode lottery. But as long as access to NHS dentistry remains a game of chance that's exactly where we'll be with oral cancers. https://www.bda.org/news-and-opinion/news/oral-cancer-is-the-missing-piece-in-the-government-s-plan/

A real privilege to take Tony and his family to Westminster. All too often dentistry has been treated as Cinderella service, a low priority that can’t compete with ‘life and death’ issues. Oral cancer demonstrates how high the stakes can be and that this profession can be life savers.

"The decline of NHS dentistry is not inevitable," says Alex Easton MP. NHS dentistry shouldn't be an optional extra. But saving it will require urgent reform wedded to sustainable funding.

"It's a stupid system," says @eddiecrouch.bsky.social An inflexible contract means that if a practice has capacity - while others in the area are actually reducing NHS work - that funding can't be kept on the frontline. https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cd7z7x0w95go

"Create a caricature of an NHS dentist based on everything you know about the role..." Undervalued. Overstretched. We've spelled out to the facts time and again. Government needs to show it's ready to act on them.

Thanks to Minister for Care @skinnock.bsky.social and Chief Dental Officer for England Jason Wong for attending our Q&A session on NHS #dentistry in Parliament today. The packed room shows the strength of feeling in Parliament on this crucial issue.

"We see a lot of children here that can't see a regular dentist that are turning up with abscesses & infections," says Shiv Pabary Urgent care is vital. But a govt that says the NHS must shift from sickness to prevention must not forget routine care. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c9qp2xx3e37o

“Soundbites are all well and good" says @eddiecrouch.bsky.social "But what tens of millions of our patients need is real commitment, underpinned by sustainable investment.” https://www.bda.org/news-and-opinion/news/primary-care-bodies-unite-to-take-fight-for-financial-security-future-to-parliament/

"There's no point increasing training places for dental students if there are no NHS practices left for them to train in after graduating” warned @drlaurenharrhy.bsky.social We can’t have NHS dentistry without NHS dentists. Practices need decent contracts to retain and recruit staff.

Was it the staff meeting from hell? Today Dental Public Health staff will still be looking for answers on the abolition of NHS England. https://www.bda.org/news-and-opinion/news/nhs-england-merger-public-health-experts-offered-euphemisms-not-clarity-over-jobs/

Govt to tie the hands of practices on urgent care. We worked to secure a level that's tolerable. But practices could face penalties for failure to hit targets simply because local demand does not exist. https://www.bda.org/news-and-opinion/news/government-tie-hands-of-practices-on-urgent-care/

The abolition of NHS England has left dental public health staff flying blind. They deserve real clarity on the future of their vital roles. https://www.bda.org/news-and-opinion/news/dental-public-health-staff-deserve-clarity-on-vital-roles/

The Government says it will extend free NHS dental care to young people leaving the care system until their 25th birthday. This policy makes perfect sense. If you could get an appointment… A thread [1]

Keeping our communities safe from racism. A joint statement on anti-migrant rhetoric from us and our friends @bma.org.uk, @rcn.org.uk, @thecsp.bsky.social @unitetheunion.bsky.social @unison.org.uk @hcsa-com.bsky.social

Over 75,000 people have now backed our call for fair funding for NHS dentistry. For a generation choices made at the Treasury and the Department of Health have left millions with no options. Our patients deserve better. Join us: https://you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/fund-nhs-dentistry-now

“NHS dentistry has ceased to exist for millions of families," says @eddiecrouch.bsky.social "Warm words won’t solve this - only real investment and meaningful reform will.” Sign here if you agree: https://you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/fund-nhs-dentistry-now

Catching up with @jon4highpeak.bsky.social MP this afternoon at #LPC25 His High Peak constituency has lost many NHS dentists over the last 10 years. This exodus isn’t inevitable. We can and must stem the flow. @thebda.bsky.social