NHS Dental Statistics for England

Original data analysis from our directory of 2,489 NHS dental practices

2,489

Total Practices

69%

Accepting Adults

21%

Open Weekends

76%

CQC Registered

Patient Acceptance Rates

Accepting Adult Patients 1,727 (69%)

Accepting Children 2,480 (99%)

Accepting Charge-Exempt 1,810 (72%)

Not Accepting Adults 762 (30%)

Weekend & Out-of-Hours Availability

Open on Saturdays 523 (21%)

Open on Sundays 73 (2%)

Weekday Only 1,965 (78%)

Only 21% of NHS dental practices open on Saturdays, making weekend appointments one of the biggest challenges for working patients.

Best-Served Cities

Lowest people-per-dentist ratio (more dentists per person)

#	City	Practices	Population	Ratio
1	Marlow	14	14,000	1:1,000
2	Dudley	72	80,000	1:1,111
3	Sevenoaks	17	20,000	1:1,176
4	Epsom	22	31,000	1:1,409
5	Walsall	40	68,000	1:1,700
6	Henley-on-Thames	7	12,000	1:1,714
7	Whitby	6	13,000	1:2,166
8	Dartford	23	57,000	1:2,478
9	Oldham	38	96,000	1:2,526
10	Stockport	50	136,000	1:2,720

Most Underserved Cities

Highest people-per-dentist ratio (fewer dentists per person)

#	City	Practices	Population	Ratio
1	Lincoln	1	104,000	1:104,000
2	Carlisle	1	75,000	1:75,000
3	Norwich	2	144,000	1:72,000
4	Blackpool	2	139,000	1:69,500
5	Bradford	8	546,000	1:68,250
6	Bristol	8	472,000	1:59,000
7	Sunderland	3	174,000	1:58,000
8	Canterbury	1	55,000	1:55,000
9	Peterborough	4	215,000	1:53,750
10	Maidstone	2	107,000	1:53,500

Patient Review Statistics

1

Total Reviews

5.0

Average Rating

Data Quality

2,489

NHS.uk Listings

1,913

CQC Matched

224

Cities Covered

Methodology & Data Sources

All statistics on this page are computed from our database of NHS dental practice listings, originally sourced from NHS.uk and cross-referenced with Care Quality Commission (CQC) registration data. Population figures are based on the latest available ONS estimates.

The dentist-to-population ratio uses the number of practices listed within a defined radius of each city centre (adaptive radius, typically 10â€“25 miles) divided into the city's estimated population. This provides a relative comparison but should not be interpreted as a precise measure of NHS dental capacity, as individual practice sizes vary.

Weekend availability is determined from published opening times data. A practice is counted as "open on Saturdays" if it has any non-"Closed" entry for Saturday in its opening times. Data is refreshed regularly through automated validation checks.