We never expected to be donning party hats to mark 20 years of the UDA.
But as Government roll out more tweaks to this discredited NHS dental contract, we gathered with colleagues in Westminster to mark a very unhappy birthday for a system still fuelling the crisis in NHS dentistry.
With us we had an open letter, in an oversized birthday card for the PM and Health Secretary co-signed by over 1300 dentists. Our thanks to all who supported us.
It is plain to us that real reform must go hand in hand with sustainable funding. But we are not alone in this. The public are on our side.
20 years of hurt
“Access to NHS dentistry will increase.” That was the prophecy from then-minister Rosie Winterton, on the cusp of the launch of a new contract.
Trevor McDonald on 31 March 2006 posed the question of whether things were about to go from bad to worse. Colleagues were issued clears warning on access, on funding, and on retention.
The very fact these messages were on VHS sums up how this contract is from another era. But it is still with us, even though all the warnings were in place from before day one.
And we have stated this in our message to the PM after 20 years of hurt, chaos, cuts and queues remain the norm for NHS dentistry.
Since 1 April 2026, there are more marginal changes to how the NHS dental contract delivers prevention and unscheduled care. We sincerely hope they may help struggling practices deliver their targets, but they clearly do not constitute a great reset.
Likewise, pledges to increase overseas dentist numbers will not fix a contract that is forcing dentists out, regardless of where they qualified, or in the case of UK dental students, even conditioning them to look away from the NHS before graduation.
A system was imposed and judged unfit for purpose before many of the current crop of undergrads were even born. It is a way of delivering care that is as utterly moribund as VHS.
Not turning a corner?
Last month the Government said net improvements in NHS satisfaction showed the whole service had turned a corner. The reality is dissatisfaction with NHS dentistry remains at record highs.
Don’t blame dentists, this is the result of 20 years of political choices.
Unmet need for NHS dental care now stands at nearly 14 million, or one in four of England’s adult population. But ministers have yet to pledge a penny of new investment to underpin the rebuild of the service. Following a generation of savage cuts, typical practices are now delivering NHS care ranging from checkups to dentures at a financial loss. Our pay review body has recommended a pay uplift, that ministers will turn into a pay cut, by failing to factor in the surging costs of delivering care.
Our message to Government is clear. Tweaks are no substitute for fundamental reform and proper funding. They cannot be reasonably expected to keep a sinking ship afloat.
The public are on our side
As we told Government for almost as long as this contract has been in force, we have seen inquiries, reports, and promises.
What is needed now is the political will to turn manifesto pledges into actionable change. Because today, even with several rounds of tweaks, the fundamentals of that failed system remain in place.
It is clear to us reform without sustainable funding is doomed to fail. Without it NHS dentistry will remain built on sand.
We wanted to get a picture of where the public, the taxpayer stand. And we are genuinely encouraged. Quite simply the overwhelming majority want the UK Government to be putting more in to support NHS dental care.
Nearly two thirds believe government should increase funding for NHS dentistry in some way, with 27% backing government paying a greater share of the budget relative to patient charges, and 36% saying it should be fully funded by taxation.
And there is real cross-party consensus here, with the overwhelming majority of supporters of each of the main parties backing greater spending.
Our patients want the same thing.
The profession and the public are on same page. Government needs to catch up.
Without action on funding their promises to save this service simply cannot be kept.