The NHS published its 2025/26 dental figures on 27 August 2026, and they explain a lot of what UK practices see in their inboxes. Three in five adults in England have not seen an NHS dentist in two years. Many of them are on Google looking for one, and plenty end up booking private care instead.
TL;DR
- 28.2 million adults in England have not seen an NHS dentist in two years.
- 37.6 million NHS courses of treatment were delivered, up 6.2%.
- 47,916 dentists are on the GDC register, up 3.4%.
- 53% of dentists who joined the register in 2025 trained abroad.
- 91.19% of UK searches happen on Google.
Dentists and Dental Professionals on the GDC Register
- 47,916 dentists were on the General Dental Council register in December 2025, 3.4% more than a year earlier. (General Dental Council, Registration Statistical Report 2025)
- 131,680 dental professionals were registered in total, a rise of 4.7%. (General Dental Council, Registration Statistical Report 2025)
- 83,764 dental care professionals were registered, a rise of 5.5%. (General Dental Council, Registration Statistical Report 2025)
- 53% of dentists who joined the register in 2025 qualified overseas. UK graduates made up 47%. (General Dental Council, Registration Statistical Report 2025)
- 66% of all registered dentists qualified in the UK. (Dentistry.co.uk (GDC data))
- 8,661 dental therapists are registered, up 21%. Dental hygienists number 11,292, up 11%. (General Dental Council, Registration Statistical Report 2025)
- 54% of UK dentists are women. Among dental care professionals it is 92%. (General Dental Council, Registration Statistical Report 2025)
- 31% of UK dentists are Asian or Asian British. (General Dental Council, Registration Statistical Report 2025)
- 1,069 dentists came off the register in 2025, 16% fewer than in 2024. (Dentistry.co.uk (GDC data))
- 143 dental technicians joined the register in 2025, and the total dropped below 5,000. (Dentistry.co.uk (GDC data))
NHS Dentist Access in England
- 18.8 million adults saw an NHS dentist in the 24 months to March 2026. That is 40% of adults in England. (Royal College of Surgeons of England (NHSBSA data))
- 28.2 million adults in England, 3 in 5, did not see an NHS dentist in those two years. (Royal College of Surgeons of England (NHSBSA data))
- 7.17 million children saw an NHS dentist in the 12 months to March 2026, or 60% of children. (Royal College of Surgeons of England (NHSBSA data))
- 37.6 million NHS courses of treatment were delivered in 2025/26, up 6.2% on the year before. (Royal College of Surgeons of England (NHSBSA data))
- 25,419 dentists did NHS work in England in 2025/26, up 3.1%. (Royal College of Surgeons of England (NHSBSA data))
- 43 NHS dentists serve every 100,000 people in England. (Dentistry.co.uk (NHS Dental Statistics England 2025/26))
- 23% of adults and 41% of children were seen in NHS Somerset, the lowest rates in England. (Royal College of Surgeons of England (NHSBSA data))
- 61% of NHS courses of treatment were Band 1, which covers check-ups and routine care. (Dentistry.co.uk (NHS Dental Statistics England 2025/26))
Search Engine Market Share in the UK
- 91.19% of UK searches run through Google (June 2026). (StatCounter Global Stats, United Kingdom, June 2026)
- 6.22% of UK searches run through Bing, 1.25% through Yahoo and 0.71% through DuckDuckGo. (StatCounter Global Stats, United Kingdom, June 2026)
- 88.72% of UK searches go through google.com. Only 2.33% go through google.co.uk. (StatCounter, search engine host share, United Kingdom, June 2026)
Sources
- General Dental Council, Registration Statistical Report 2025
- Dentistry.co.uk (GDC data)
- Royal College of Surgeons of England (NHSBSA data)
- Dentistry.co.uk (NHS Dental Statistics England 2025/26)
- StatCounter Global Stats, United Kingdom, June 2026
- StatCounter, search engine host share, United Kingdom, June 2026
Frequently Asked Questions
What does the GDC say a dental practice website must show?
The name, qualification and GDC registration number of every dental professional on the site. The practice’s address, phone number and email. The GDC’s contact details or a link to its website. The complaints procedure, including who to contact next: the NHS body for NHS care or the Dental Complaints Service for private care. And the date the site was last updated.
Who can call themselves a specialist on a UK dental website?
Only a dentist on one of the GDC’s specialist lists. Everyone else must avoid specialist, specialist in and specialising in. Dental care professionals have no specialist lists at all, so titles like smile specialist or denture specialist are out. Say special interest in, or just list the treatments.
Should NHS and private treatments sit on the same web page?
Keep them apart. The GDC expects you to make clear whether the practice is NHS, private or mixed, and a person searching NHS dentist wants one answer first: are you taking new NHS patients? Put that at the top of the NHS page and keep it current. Use the private pages for fees and payment plans.
Do UK advertising rules apply to a dental practice's Google Ads?
Yes. The Advertising Standards Authority’s CAP Code covers paid ads, your website and your social media posts. Prescription-only medicines cannot be advertised to the public, which is why practices that offer anti-wrinkle injections do not name the product in their ads.
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