Number of dentists offering NHS services across Yorkshire plummets, new figures show

There are just nine NHS practices for every 100,000 people in North Yorkshire and the Humber.

The number of dental practices offering dental services has plummeted across the region, with the worst drop in North Yorkshire and the Humber.

There are just nine NHS practices for every 100,000 people in this area, while at the same time only a quarter of new patients are able to access an NHS dentist.

The figures come from a new report that has found at least 600 dental practices in England have left the NHS since 2017.

Independent health think tank The Nuffield Trust found that while the number of practices had risen by more than 400 in that time to 10,160, there had been a 9 percentage point drop in the number offering NHS services.

The number of practices with no NHS contract increased by almost 1,000 during the same period, but the number of NHS contracts fell from around 6,260 in March 2017 to 5,650 in March 2026.

All but one of England’s 42 integrated care boards has seen a fall in numbers, including those across Yorkshire.

In North Yorkshire and the Humber, there was a 13 per cent drop in NHS practices.

In West Yorkshire, this figure was 10 per cent, while in South Yorkshire the reduction was less at 4 per cent.

It comes as Labour has pledged to reform the contract for NHS work, which multiple dentists said is the issue to The Yorkshire Post.

Nuffield Trust policy analyst Mark Dayan said: “As the government delivers the contract reform it has promised, it will face a stark choice.

“Either it makes NHS work attractive enough to turn this trend around and bring back enough practices to cover everyone, or it will need to give up on the promise of a universal service and prioritise those who need preventive care most, or do not have the money to pay privately.”

The research found six in 10 adults have not seen an NHS dentist in two years with visits dropping by 8 per cent from pre-Covid levels.

Of those who have attempted to book a new patient appointment, just 38 per cent were successful according to the Nuffield Trust research.

North Yorkshire and the Humber is one of the worst affected areas at 25 per cent.

The British Dental Association (BDA) said 135 practices had left the NHS since Labour came to power in 2024.

The BDA’s general dental practice committee chair Shiv Pabary said: “What we’re seeing here is the direct result of choices made by successive governments.

“A new team at the Department of Health and Social Care needs to grasp that if they fail to fix and fund NHS dentistry, dentists will have no choice but to walk away.”

A DHSC spokesperson said: “Too many people are struggling to get the dental care they need.

“After years of decline, the government has been rebuilding a broken NHS dentistry system, delivering 1.8m more dental treatments and maximising the treatments provided for taxpayers’ money.

“We are changing the NHS dental contract to make NHS dentistry more sustainable and are training more dentists in areas where they are most needed.

“We will also make it a requirement for newly qualified dentists to practice in the NHS for a minimum period of at least 3 years. That will mean more NHS dentists, more NHS appointments and better oral health."