The State of NHS Dentistry in 2026
Unchanged from 35 days ago, when it was also 44%.
- We track 13,973 UK dental practices: 6,459 NHS practices in England, plus Scotland, Northern Ireland and 6,174 private practices.
- Of England’s 6,459 NHS practices, only 2,819 are currently taking new NHS patients.
- The hardest counties to find an NHS dentist right now: Cumbria, Devon, Bristol.
- Figures sync daily from official NHS data, so this page updates itself, last refreshed 8 September 2026.
Hardest places to find an NHS dentist
Counties with the lowest share of NHS practices accepting new patients.
| # | County | Accepting |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cumbria 38 practices |
13% |
| 2 | Devon 147 practices |
18% |
| 3 | Bristol 103 practices |
19% |
| 4 | Somerset 96 practices |
21% |
| 5 | Dorset 90 practices |
21% |
| 6 | Cornwall 38 practices |
21% |
| 7 | County Durham & Teesside 145 practices |
23% |
| 8 | North Yorkshire 84 practices |
23% |
| 9 | Hampshire 168 practices |
25% |
| 10 | Norfolk 71 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 | Staffordshire 72 practices |
67% |
| 3 | Greater London 1,097 practices |
64% |
| 4 | Warwickshire 89 practices |
60% |
| 5 | Greater Manchester 378 practices |
57% |
| 6 | Berkshire 146 practices |
51% |
| 7 | Leicestershire 124 practices |
50% |
| 8 | Hertfordshire 171 practices |
49% |
| 9 | Essex 184 practices |
48% |
| 10 | Kent 262 practices |
48% |
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 8 September 2026)
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