05/03/2026
Another misleading headline about NHS dentistry.
The suggestion that dentists are somehow âreturningâ ÂŁ900m ignores the real issue: most NHS dentists are not making money under the current system. The clawback happens because practices simply cannot recruit dentists willing to work under the UDA contract, where the funding is so low it often doesnât even cover the cost of providing care.
Running an NHS practice means paying nurses, reception staff, labs, materials, equipment, indemnity and regulatory costs. When the fees paid for treatment donât meet those costs, it becomes impossible to deliver the activity the contract demands.
This isnât dentists choosing not to see patients â itâs a system that no longer works, where funding is so poor that clinicians are leaving the NHS and practices canât recruit replacements.
Until the contract and funding are properly reformed, headlines like this just distract from the real problem: a broken NHS dental system that is driving dentists away. There wonât be any independent NHS practices left soon.
