The British Dental Association Northern Ireland has warned that the recovery in NHS dental services has stalled, and is putting dental care out of reach for many without real urgency from government.
Registration rates among adults and children have also fallen to lowest levels in a generation. Just 50% of adult patients are now registered, in the part of the UK with the highest oral health needs. In 2023/24, the last year comparable figures exist, NI dentists filled by far the largest number of teeth per 100,000 population of any UK nation, a rate over 50% more than England. In Fermanagh and Omagh just over a third of adults (35%) are now registered, with regional inequalities on the rise.
Family Practitioner Services General Dental Statistics for Northern Ireland 2024/25 shows the number of treatment claims submitted and paid for adults is down on last year, while the number of patients seen remain down by a fifth on pre-COVID norms.
The number of HS practices in Northern Ireland has fallen steadily over the last decade.
The already struggling service has been hit by huge new costs as the result of the last UK Budget. The professional body and trade union for dentists has called for immediate short-term ‘bridging’ support for dental practices as a lifeline to cover costs, and a sustainable long-term settlement for the struggling service.
Ciara Gallagher, Chair of the British Dental Association’s Northern Ireland Dental Practice Committee, said: “It’s clear that a sticking plaster approach rather than the radical overhaul needed is putting HS Dentistry out of reach for a sizeable portion of our population. Fewer patients are getting the care they need, vast numbers are no longer on even our books, and many practices are moving away from a broken system. These figures must be responded to with the utmost urgency: without meaningful reform and sustainable funding, this service won’t have a future.”
