The State of NHS Dentistry in 2026
Down from 44% 35 days ago, and 257 fewer practices are taking new NHS patients than then.
- We track 13,878 UK dental practices: 6,483 NHS practices in England, plus Scotland, Northern Ireland and 6,058 private practices.
- Of England’s 6,483 NHS practices, only 2,563 are currently taking new NHS patients.
- The hardest counties to find an NHS dentist right now: Lancashire, Bristol, Devon.
- Figures sync daily from official NHS data, so this page updates itself, last refreshed 30 October 2026.
Hardest places to find an NHS dentist
Counties with the lowest share of NHS practices accepting new patients.
| # | County | Accepting |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lancashire 185 practices |
16% |
| 2 | Bristol 103 practices |
16% |
| 3 | Devon 147 practices |
18% |
| 4 | Somerset 96 practices |
20% |
| 5 | North Yorkshire 84 practices |
20% |
| 6 | Cornwall 38 practices |
21% |
| 7 | Dorset 90 practices |
22% |
| 8 | West Yorkshire 275 practices |
23% |
| 9 | Cumbria 39 practices |
23% |
| 10 | County Durham & Teesside 145 practices |
25% |
Easiest places to find an NHS dentist
Counties where NHS dentists are most likely to be accepting new patients.
| # | County | Accepting |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | West Midlands 390 practices |
71% |
| 2 | Warwickshire 89 practices |
62% |
| 3 | Staffordshire 73 practices |
59% |
| 4 | Greater London 1,101 practices |
53% |
| 5 | Greater Manchester 378 practices |
52% |
| 6 | Herefordshire 20 practices |
50% |
| 7 | Shropshire 66 practices |
47% |
| 8 | Essex 190 practices |
47% |
| 9 | Nottinghamshire 120 practices |
46% |
| 10 | Suffolk 62 practices |
44% |
How we measure this
finddentist.co.uk tracks the “accepting new patients” status of every NHS dental practice in the NHS Directory of Healthcare Services, synced daily and supplemented by reports from patients between official updates. A county’s rate is the share of its NHS practices flagged as accepting new adult or child NHS patients, grouped by postcode area (which can straddle county lines). Counties with fewer than 15 practices are excluded from the rankings so the figures stay meaningful. We are an independent directory and are not affiliated with the NHS or NHS England.
Journalists & researchers: cite this report
This data is free to use and updates daily. Please credit finddentist.co.uk with a link.
Source: finddentist.co.uk, “The State of NHS Dentistry 2026”
https://finddentist.co.uk/nhs-dentist-report (accessed 30 October 2026)
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