EXCLUSIVE: One in four adults still can’t get seen by an NHS dentist despite small improvements under Labour, according to analysis of major patient survey12:08, 09 Jul 2026Updated 19:30, 09 Jul 2026The NHS dental crisis means about one in four adults still cannot get the care they need in a situation branded “obscene” by dentists.‌New analysis of the GP Survey by Ipsos looking at “unmet need” for dentistry shows more people are giving up on even trying to get an appointment because they thought there was no chance of getting one.‌It comes as one patient who waited eight years for treatment for badly broken teeth told the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO) how she struggled to eat.‌The 2026 survey for England shows 6.2 million people did not get treated for a problem in the previous two years because they “didn’t think I could get an appointment” - up 300,000 in 2026.Overall, unmet need fell slightly from 13.8 million in 2025 down to 13.3 million this year but dentists insist progress is too slow. one in four adults are still going without care - up from around one in ten before the Covid-19 pandemic.‌The analysis by trade body the British Dental Association indicates that 4.9 million adult patients tried and failed to secure NHS care in the last 2 years, down 800,000 on last year.BDA chair Eddie Crouch said: “These numbers reflect millions of desperate people across this country. The patients waiting years for basic care. The problems left to fester that could have been nipped in the bud. And those will take matters into their own hands. It’s utterly obscene.”‌Those with unmet need include 1.3 million who said they could not afford NHS care because of the cost of dental charges - which had been drastically increased under the Tories in the previous decade. The poll suggests a further 800,000 people are on an NHS waiting list at a dental practice.The Mirror has launched the Dentists for All campaign to tackle the nation’s oral health crisis which has left many people in agony and resorting to yanking out their own teeth.'Damaged teeth made it difficult to eat for 8 years'The PHSO report told how a woman called Anne waited eight years for treatment for badly broken teeth.‌The 58-year-old from South Devon broke a front tooth and damaged another in an accident in 2017 but her dentist said they could not treat her and referred her to hospital.During that time, the damage to her teeth made it difficult to eat. She worked as a teacher and was told her appearance was not professional enough to teach face-to-face.Anne said: "Had I known that the NHS would not deliver the care I needed for eight years, or if they had refused to provide the treatment, I could have changed my career to one where my appearance did not matter and saved up to pay privately for the treatment I needed.”‌The report told how Anne “fell through the gaps” after repeatedly being passed between local and hospital services.Anne added: "I've estimated that over 20 hours of NHS hospital consultant time has been spent on `treatment planning' to deliver the two hours of treatment I actually needed. I seriously question whether that is an effective use of NHS resources."‌GP improvementsThe GP Survey of 650,000 patients did show improvements in accessing other parts of primary care in recent years. Some 76.7% of patients rated their overall experience of their GP practice as good in 2026 - up from 73.9% last year. Some 30.8% contacted their practice online, up nearly double on the 16.9% in 2024. It comes after Labour forced all GP practices to offer online booking options.Beccy Baird, senior fellow at the King’s Fund thinktank, said: “These results clearly show the front door of the NHS is becoming easier to open."Health Secretary James Murray said: “This shows the hard work of NHS staff is helping more patients get the care they need."‌Dentistry remains in crisis though and it comes after Labour promised to reform the hated NHS dental contract before coming to power in 2024. The contract leaves practices making a loss treating more complex patients and has driven an exodus of dentists to the private sector.It comes as Keir Starmer is preparing to stand down as Prime Minister and is expected to be replaced by Andy Burnham after his win in the Makerfield by-election. A public consultation on contract reform which was set to land this summer has been downgraded to coming “in due course”.The Treasury has also refused to commit extra funding to NHS dentistry to enable fundamental reform of the contract. The BDA estimates it would take an increase of £1.5 billion to restore NHS dentistry as a fully universal service for everyone in England who needs it.‌Eddie Crouch added: “Andy Burnham speaks of a ‘Makerfield Test’, that he wouldn’t sign up to policies that failed his own constituents. Well, his voters, and millions of others are being comprehensively failed by an NHS dental system designed in Westminster.“Tweaks at the margins and unfunded gimmicks have barely scratched the surface. A new administration must deliver real reform.”You get what you pay forNHS dental funding for England remained at around £3 billion for more than a decade under the Tories, failing to keep pace with inflation and population growth.‌This was only enough to fund care for half the population of England and analysis by the British Dental Association found this equated to a £1bn real terms funding cut as dentists quit the NHS in their droves.The crisis in NHS dentistry came about as the proportion of the NHS budget spent on dentistry fell from 3.3% in 2010 to just 1.5% in 2024.Labour increased the annual budget to £3.5bn for 2024/25 and has promised by the end of this parliament to fundamentally reform the NHS dental contract -which has driven the exodus of dentists going private.‌However the BDA says fundamental reform cannot be achieved without an extra £1.5 billion more a year to restore NHS dentistry as a universal service for all who want it.It comes after Labour announced 50 new dentist training places at universities in two of the country’s worst dental deserts where people ripping out their own teeth is commonplace. The government has also expanded places on professional registration exams for overseas-trained dentists.It has also introduced supervised teeth brushing at schools in more deprived areas. The government says its changes have resulted in 1.8 million additional courses of treatment.Article continues belowA spokesperson for Department of Health and Social Care said: "This government has taken swift action to rebuild NHS dentistry following years of decline, enabling thousands more overseas qualified dentists to register to practice in the NHS, delivering more dental school places in underserved areas, reinvesting nearly £400 million back into NHS dentistry, and delivering 1.8 million additional courses of treatment.“Our reforms to the dental contract prioritise patients with the greatest needs, delivering a better deal for dentists, while our prevention programme is building healthy dental habits in around 600,000 children, tackling tooth decay from an early age."