The Association of Dental Groups (ADG) launches a new whitepaper: ‘Futurism & Dental Dynamism: The next 15 years of dentistry’ to MPs and stakeholders in the House of Commons today. The report shows three seismic shifts that will impact the provision of dental services in the UK. These shifts should be front-of-mind for the NHS – as their 10-year plan takes us from hospital to community, cure to prevention and analogue to digital.
Three ‘tectonic shifts’
1. Demographic shifts – the overarching societal change
The UK’s low birthrate and our burgeoning elderly population will have a significant impact on all aspects of oral health care, from workforce considerations to the complexities of caring for an ageing population.
2. Artificial intelligence and digital innovation
With the move from analogue to digital, the report examines how oral healthcare providers need to ensure that developments benefit patients, as well as allowing professionals to improve patient care in a safely regulated environment.
3. Skill mix and workforce
Smart working will ensure all dental professionals are enabled to deploy their full scope of practice. This will provide professional development, encourage loyalty to the profession as well as speed up processes to improve patient access.
Elderly oral healthcare
The operational reality of delivering oral healthcare in care homes is a challenge. Supervised toothbrushing models, successful in nurseries and primary schools, do not readily translate into elderly settings. Residents entering care homes often have rapidly changing health status, cognitive impairment and declining manual dexterity. This landscape is overlayed with workforce instability in social care with high staff turnover, making training initiatives a repetitive and expensive task. The ADG’s report details that without meaningful reform of pay to support retention and staffing stability in the care sector, oral health preventive programmes struggle to embed – and there is no substitute for daily supervised toothbrushing support.
Policy ambition must be matched by stable funding, realistic workforce planning and alignment with social care reform.
Neil Carmichael, Executive Chair, Association of Dental Groups (ADG) said: “Oral healthcare provision is already stretched with gaps in the workforce. This, coupled with the fact that we will have a larger group of elderly patients to care for presenting increasingly complex oral health issues, means that this must be a priority area. ADG members stand ready to advise policymakers on how best to ensure support for this growing population group. We will be facing an elderly oral health crisis if we are not careful, so it is important now for all healthcare professionals to work together to deliver the solutions.”
Health Minister Stephen Kinnock said: “We have been taking urgent action to rebuild NHS dentistry now, while laying strong foundations for the future. Our groundbreaking partnership with Colgate-Palmolive has already seen us deliver 4 million toothbrushing resource packs to children in deprived areas. We’re expanding water fluoridation schemes to the North-East – an extra 1.6 million people will soon benefit from this simple but effective measure to improve oral health. We’ve also strengthened the Soft Drinks Industry Levy – the “Sugar Tax” – and introduced healthier baby food standards.
“Together, we are making progress to turn dental care around. We have delivered 1.8 million additional courses of NHS dental treatment in the 7 months between April and October 2025, compared to the same period before the general election, nearly half of which were delivered to children. And we have reduced the NHS dentistry underspend from £400 million to £40 million – meaning more money is going into dental care. But we know there is much more to do to get to the root of the problem. The steps we’ve taken use the current contract to improve access, focus on those who need care most, and encourage dentists to deliver more NHS treatment.
“The NHS dentistry workforce is our greatest asset. As part of our 10 Year Health Plan, we have also announced that newly qualified dentists will be required to practise in the NHS after they graduate. That will mean more NHS dentists, more NHS appointments and better oral health. Together we will deliver reforms, we will deliver an NHS dentistry system that is fair and accessible. One that provides more readily accessible, good quality care – including better prevention – to those most in need.”
Lord (David) Willetts, President, Resolution Foundation said: “An ageing population is rapidly increasing demand for health and social care, as more people live longer with multiple, complex conditions. After peaking in 2012 the birth rate has fallen significantly so in future the number of younger adults entering the workforce will shrink, leaving fewer staff to deliver this care. This imbalance is exacerbated by growing spending on state pensions and low economic growth so resources available for the NHS are constrained. These forces place growing pressure on healthcare systems, stretching capacity, raising costs, and making it harder to sustain high‐quality services without significant changes to funding, workforce planning and service models.”
Dr Rakhee Patel, Deputy Chief Dental Officer for England, said: “As our population ages, more people are retaining their natural teeth – often with increasingly complex dental needs. When social, behavioural or medical challenges arise, the risk of oral disease increases and delivering comprehensive care becomes more difficult. Poor oral health can affect a person’s ability to eat, speak and socialise, and can cause significant pain and distress. Prevention must therefore be our priority. We must continue to equip patients, their carers and health and social care staff with the support they need to maintain good oral health at home, in care settings and in hospital.”
15 years of the ADG
2026 marks 15 years of the Association of Dental Groups (ADG) shaping UK dentistry. More than ever, dental reform is on policymakers’ agendas, with stakeholders coming together to action change, embrace technology and maximise the workforce skills mix. Taking inspiration from the Futurism movement that originated in early 1900s’ Italy which celebrated dynamism, energy – as well as the speed and efficiency of the machine to drive change, the ADG predicts that the next 15 years of dentistry will see a ‘new-world’ of dentistry, super-charged by AI and digital technology.
Technology boon
Despite the challenges of the demographic shift, dentistry is well-placed to navigate the challenges. A ‘Futurism’ approach and a dynamic mindset enabled by advances in technology and smart deployment of the full dental workplace can ensure that the next 15 years of dentistry are on track to excel. Rapid advances in digital, the speed with which AI and digital tech is evolving will bring efficiencies, opportunities and patient benefits. However, there will be practical and ethical quandaries ahead and the ADG sees this as an emerging area requiring careful governance.
Working smart
Whilst dentistry skill mix has seen some changes over the years, the ADG believes that the full workforce should be enabled to fulfil their training scope better. Dental professionals are not being used to their full capability. The ADG wants to ensure dental training includes exposure to skill mix training. The ADG published the ‘Creating Dental Oases’ report in June 2025 describing the challenges facing the dental workforce with over 2,700 dentist vacancies, and the impact on patient care. Over the next 15 years stakeholders must ensure that dentistry is delivered with the ‘mixed economy’ landscape in mind. Purely planning for the NHS workforce in dentistry will not work, and this has been part of the problem for many years.
With 32 member groups, representing over 10,000 dentists and 22,000 GDC registrants, the ADG is well-placed to see what is ahead for the future of oral healthcare in the UK, consult on the challenges and shape the opportunities that lie head over the next 15 years.
Embracing this moment
The interaction between demographic change, intelligent technology and a fully deployed workforce will determine whether dentistry over the next 15 years becomes constrained by pressure or transformed by opportunity. We must embrace the opportunities now.
Antonina Gont, Registered Care Home Manager, Grasmere Rest Home, Sutton said: “The challenges of supporting the elderly with preventative dental care can include their deteriorating physical and mental capacities. Loss of dexterity and their ability to hold a toothbrush, as well as confusion can make maintaining good oral health difficult. Many of our elderly residents also develop a ‘sweet tooth’ which can become heightened by dementia. So, we must stay extra vigilant about supervising toothbrushing. Often when they do have an infection it can take a long time for them to be seen by a dentist, since a referral can take six months. We also struggle with the practicalities of transporting them. They cannot have dental treatments in the care home, so they must be taken to the surgery – and moving them from a wheelchair to a dentist’s chair can be difficult.”
Glen Taylor, Chief Dental Officer, Community Dental Services (CDS-CIC) said: “Within community dental services, we are already experiencing what some are calling Dentistry’s Silver Tsunami: a rapidly growing demand for oral healthcare among older populations in every setting—from sheltered housing and nursing homes to people receiving care at home. As more older adults retain their natural teeth, maintaining good oral hygiene becomes more challenging, as the complexity of their dental need increases.
“Looking ahead, the next generation of older adults—those currently in their 30s to 60s—will present even greater challenges. Many will have implants and cosmetic dentistry that require lifelong maintenance and are vulnerable to the effects of medications such as bisphosphonates and blood thinners, or the impact of medical interventions and dementia related illnesses. Cosmetic treatments, while beneficial, will not last a lifetime without sustained high standards of oral hygiene, and ongoing repairs will be inevitable.
“To meet this rising complexity, the dental workforce must be supported and strengthened. Closer integration with other healthcare professionals and proactive planning will be essential if we are to respond effectively to the demands of Dentistry’s Silver Tsunami, which is already on our shores.”
