16/10/2026
News from NHS Hampshire and Isle of Wight:
Access to NHS dentistry has continued to increase for the third consecutive year for both children and adults, with Hampshire and Isle of Wight top nationally for additional unique adult patients who previously hadn’t seen an NHS dentist for more than two years. More than 650,000 patients across the area received NHS dental care between April 2025 and April of this year, which was an increase of 35,000 compared to the previous 12 months.
Our Director for Neighbourhood Health, James Roach, said: “We are fully aware that access to NHS dental care needs to improve and there is significant work to do. However, this data is a strong indication that we continue to work in the right way and that access is moving in the right direction.
“There is rightly a focus on children’s oral health throughout Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, but it is also important to see the fact that we are leading the country for the number of new adult patients who previously hadn’t seen an NHS dentist.”
Dental contracts are awarded to dental practices to provide NHS dental care and treatment. The amount of dental services delivered throughout those contracts has also increased, with some significant improvements seen in East Hampshire, Gosport and Eastleigh.
Plans are also in place to help continue to stabilise and improve NHS dental care, with the first students now enrolled at the University of Portsmouth’s new dental school to help train dentists in Hampshire, with the previous closest schools in either Plymouth or London.
