The NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA) has published its annual 2024/25 NHS Dental Statistics – England report, showing encouraging recovery and growth in dental services post-Covid-19.
The report, which covers 2019/20 to 2024/25 NHS dental activity and workforce data, reveals that 35 million courses of treatment (COTs) were delivered in 2024/25 – a 4% increase from the previous year.
Child patient treatments (aged under 18) saw particularly strong growth, with COTs increasing by 7% to 12 million. Adult patient treatments also rose by 2% to 23 million COTs.
The dental workforce continued to expand, with 24,543 dentists providing NHS services in England – a 1.4% increase from 2023/24. This represents 42 dentists per 100,000 population, maintaining the same national ratio as the previous year.
Other key findings include:
- 73 million units of dental activity (UDAs) were delivered, with Band 1 treatments – including check-ups, examinations, x-rays and preventive advice – accounting for 29% of total UDAs.
- Band 1 treatments made up over 60% of all COTs, whilst 10% were urgent.
- 18 million adults received NHS dental care from 1 April 2023 to 31 March 2025, representing 40% of England’s adult population. For children, 6.9 million patients were seen from 1 April 2024 to 31 March 2025, covering 57% of the child population.
Whilst treatment figures show positive trends, the report notes that dentist availability still varies significantly across different Integrated Care Board (ICB) areas in England.
The full statistics report is available at: Dental statistics – England 2024/25 | NHSBSA.
BDA: Struggling service remains shadow of its former self
The British Dental Association, however, has said the new data underlines the need for urgency and ambition to fix NHS dentistry, with capacity still trailing pre-Covid norms and lightyears from meeting demand.
The Association states that the figures highlight the limits of the pandemic recovery. Just 35.4 million courses of NHS dental treatment were delivered in 2024/5, up by just 1.3 million on last year’s figures, and down by over 10% on the averages from prior to lockdown (a 39.6m average from 2016/17-2018/19).
The data shows only 39.8% of adults were seen by a dentist in the two years to June 2025, up by just 0.1% on 2024 figures, and down from 49.4% in the 2 years to September 2019. Recovery appears stronger among children, with 57.3% of children being seen in the 12 months to June 2025 compared to the 59.7 % seen in the year to June 2019.Access problems were the norm even pre-Covid, with BDA analysis of historic data – the GP Survey by Ipsos – indicating that unmet need for services amounted to 4m in 2019, or 1 in 10 of the adult population. Figures now stand at nearly 14 million, or well over one in four adults.
The professional body stresses this plateauing recovery reflects the unfunded and unambitious ‘Recovery Plan’ rolled out by the former Government in Spring 2024. While the current Government has pledged to reform the discredited contract fuelling this crisis before the next General Election, it has shown no signs it is ready to reverse savage cuts that have left typical practices delivering NHS care at a loss.
BDA Chair Eddie Crouch said: “Half a decade on from lockdown and NHS dentistry has not bounced back. It’s a stark reminder that warm words and unambitious plans won’t restore care to millions. The answer remains real reform wedded to fair funding.”
