The UK government has committed to fundamental reform of the NHS dental contract during this Parliamentary term and announced changes to the existing dental contract due to take effect from April 2026.
Watch back this on-demand recording with Nigel Jones, Chris Groombridge and Simon Thackeray as they explore what the recently announced contractual changes could mean for both patients and NHS dentists and what shape the promised fundamental reform might take.
Dentistry exists to improve the nation’s oral health – through prevention, effective treatment, and long-term wellbeing. Yet in England, oral health inequality is a growing issue with NHS dentistry under unprecedented strain and significant access problems in many parts of the country. Indeed, recent figures show that only around 40% of adults and 56% of children have been able to access NHS dental care in recent months.
In response, the UK government has committed to fundamental reform of the NHS dental contract during this Parliamentary term and announced changes to the existing dental contract due to take effect from April 2026. Aimed at prioritising access to urgent NHS dental care, alongside new incentives for dentists to provide longer-term treatment for patients with complex needs, these changes are seen as moderate improvements, but questions remain about whether, in the absence of additional funding, they will ease pressure on the system.
Nigel, Chris and Simon discuss the proposed changes, the options for the targeting of finite resources, and the vital role private dentistry can play in narrowing oral health inequality.
Nigel Jones is Practice Plan’s Strategy
Director, and has been working in the dental sector for over 30 years.
He has a special interest in the development and future of NHS dentistry in the UK. His knowledge and passion for dentistry has led him to become a trusted voice, offering invaluable advice on how to strategically and successfully run a practice
Simon Thackeray is a practicing
general practitioner in Mansfield. He is well known in the UK dental community for his views and is often asked to appear in webinars, podcasts, and presentations to the profession. He is a founder member and sits on the Executive Committee of the British Association of Private Dentistry and is the President Elect for 2025/26.
He is also a member of the General Practitioners committee of the British Dental Association, as well as the Local Dental Committees for Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire. In addition, he is a Trustee of the Tubules Foundation Charity and is also the presenter and producer of a dental podcast called ‘Private Matters’ with his colleague Rachel Derby.
Chris Groombridge is joint managing director of 543 Dental and chair of the charity Teeth Team. He’s Secretary of the Hull and East Yorkshire Local Dental Committee, a member of the Local Dental Network (LDN) for North Yorkshire and Humber and was a director of the Associated Dental Groups (ADG) for 9 and a half years.
| Location | Date & Time | |
| On-demand webinar | Recorded 27/01/2026 |
