Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when he expects negotiations on a new dental contract to conclude.

We are committed to reforming the dental contract, but we need to take the time to get this right. There are no perfect payment models and careful consideration needs to be given to any potential changes to the complex dental system so that we deliver genuine improvements for patients and the profession.

We are continuing to meet the British Dental Association and other representatives of the dental sector to discuss how we can best deliver our shared ambition to improve access for National Health Service dental patients.

As a first step to reforming the dental contract, we are consulting on a package of changes to improve access to, and improve the quality of, NHS dentistry, which will deliver improved care for the diverse oral health needs of people across England. Further information on the consultation is available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/nhs-dentistry-contract-quality-and-payment-reforms

The consultation was launched on 8 July and will close on 19 August 2025.