Overview
- New measures will pay dentists more for urgent NHS cases and allow complex treatment to be booked as a single package, which officials say could save patients about £225.
- NHS 111 recorded roughly 20% more calls about dental problems between July and September 2025 than a year earlier, highlighting rising unmet need.
- Healthwatch urges monthly reporting on delivery of the 700,000-appointment pledge and calls for a legal right to register with an NHS dentist.
- Policy Exchange proposes a universal £150 annual dental voucher to tackle postcode inequality, a plan backed by Sir Sajid Javid but rejected by the BDA.
- The BDA calls the government changes the biggest tweaks to a failing contract yet warns they fall short of securing a sustainable NHS dental service.