NHS Dental Statistics for England

Original data analysis from our directory of 2,485 NHS dental practices

2,485

Total Practices

70%

Accepting Adults

21%

Open Weekends

79%

CQC Registered

Patient Acceptance Rates

Accepting Adult Patients 1,764 (70%)

Accepting Children 2,474 (99%)

Accepting Charge-Exempt 1,841 (74%)

Not Accepting Adults 721 (29%)

Weekend & Out-of-Hours Availability

Open on Saturdays 521 (20%)

Open on Sundays 79 (3%)

Weekday Only 1,963 (78%)

Only 20% 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	Dudley	70	80,000	1:1,142
2	Marlow	12	14,000	1:1,166
3	Epsom	23	31,000	1:1,347
4	Walsall	42	68,000	1:1,619
5	Whitby	7	13,000	1:1,857
6	Henley-on-Thames	6	12,000	1:2,000
7	Oldham	45	96,000	1:2,133
8	Gosport	14	32,000	1:2,285
9	Dartford	24	57,000	1:2,375
10	Stockport	51	136,000	1:2,666

Most Underserved Cities

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

#	City	Practices	Population	Ratio
1	Milton Keynes	1	248,000	1:248,000
2	Cambridge	1	145,000	1:145,000
3	Blackpool	1	139,000	1:139,000
4	Luton	2	225,000	1:112,500
5	Peterborough	2	215,000	1:107,500
6	Carlisle	1	75,000	1:75,000
7	Corby	1	61,000	1:61,000
8	Bradford	9	546,000	1:60,666
9	Bristol	8	472,000	1:59,000
10	Canterbury	1	55,000	1:55,000

Patient Review Statistics

1

Total Reviews

5.0

Average Rating

Data Quality

2,485

NHS.uk Listings

1,979

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.