Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent discussions he conducted with dentists before introducing changes to the NHS dentistry contract.

In Summer 2025, the Department ran a full public consultation on our proposed reforms to the dental contract. The consultation ran for six weeks and received almost 2,300 responses, including from those working in the dental sector, from professional bodies and charities. The Government response to the consultation was published in December and provides a summary of the results of the consultation. The response is available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/nhs-dentistry-contract-quality-and-payment-reforms/outcome/government-response-to-consultation-on-nhs-dentistry-contract-quality-and-payment-reforms#introduction

NHS England and the Office of the Chief Dental Officer have also engaged with the dental sector to support the implementation of these reforms, including through webinars, bulletins, and contract guidance. Clinical guidance will be published shortly.

We have engaged with key stakeholders throughout the process of developing these reforms, including through regular meetings with the British Dental Association.

The regulations introducing the first phase of these reforms came into force on 1 April, and the remainder of the reforms, including the introduction of complex care pathways, will be implemented from June 2026. These reforms will prioritise those with the greatest need, shifting care away from clinically unnecessary check-ups.

We remain committed to delivering further, fundamental reform of the dental contract before the end of this Parliament. Discussions with key stakeholders have continued ahead of any further proposed amendments to the dental contract.