Campaigning for change in UK dentistry

Priorities

Learn about our current priorities.

Lobbying

Learn about our lobbying work in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Take action

Learn how to get involved in our campaigns.

Campaigns and advocacy

The future of NHS dentistry: Our comprehensive plan

Dire need for change requires concrete reform. We have set out to government how we think dentistry needs to change to the benefit of dentists and your patients.

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Delivering results for the profession

Our impact in 2024

Over the past year, we’ve been expanding our membership offering, championing political change, and shaping the future of dentistry across the UK. From key victories in NHS reform to supporting our members, discover how we’ve been making an impact—for dentistry and for you.

View the BDA Impact report 2024

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Representing you

Our vision for the CDS

The nation’s ability to deliver dental treatment for some of the most vulnerable groups in our society is at risk. Our vision is a call to action from English community dentists themselves on how to end a crisis that has gone under the radar of decision makers for far too long, asking all parties involved with community dentistry to make sure the service is finally given the priority it deserves.

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Latest news

Updates to the Scottish Dental Access Initiative and Recruitment and Retention Allowance

The latest remuneration changes in Scotland.

Dental public health – vital jobs left on the line

We have warned officials that this week’s announcement to reduce the size of Department of Health and NHS England central workforce by fifty percent could critically undermine an already fragile dental public health function.

Dentists: Skimping on urgent care is fuelling antibiotic resistance

In an open letter to Wes Streeting, we have warned that a failure to fully meet demand for urgent dental care will only increase the pressures on our health service, as antibiotics become a substitute for treatment.

Government meeting less than 1/3 of unmet need for urgent care

Following a string of reports of DIY dentistry, and death – or near death – experiences from dental infections, we’ve found that government discovered demand for urgent care of 2.2 million but covered less than a third of it.   

Unity across dentistry in calls for registrant to chair GDC

Professional bodies and specialist societies have come together to sign an open letter calling for the next General Dental Council chair to be a registrant.

700,000 urgent appointments coming. Now restore care to millions

With commissioning finally set to begin on the Labour Government’s pledge of 700,000 new NHS urgent dental care appointments, we’ve stressed progress is now urgently required on promises to reform the broken contract fuelling the access crisis millions still face.

Wales: Calling out the spin

For too long the Welsh Government have offered spin, half-truths or doublespeak on dentistry. So, we are calling it out.

England: DFT service costs uplifted for first time in a decade

Service costs payments to practices providing Dental Foundation Training (DFT) have been uplifted for the first time in a decade, as a result of our determined campaigning.

Government challenged to deliver on supervised toothbrushing

The Government has made the right call on supervised toothbrushing, but it needs to put its money where its mouth is.

England: Dentists handed pay cut after record-breaking delay

Ministers have now approved a real pay cut for dentists in England, after record-breaking delays.

NHS dentistry: All we want for Christmas is clarity

Dentists in England are set to break for Christmas with no idea about when contractual uplifts will land, what shape support might take for the hike in overheads brought by the recent Budget, and little sense of where promised reform sits on the new Government’s to do list.

Primary care united on Scotland’s £40 million NI Hike

Voices from across primary care have come together with a simple message for the Scottish Government: failure to protect us from the National Insurance hike will have real consequences for the communities we serve.