A rise in urgent dental appointments has been secured in Devon for the first time since the Covid-19 pandemic.
Fresh NHS figures show the first year-on-year increase in urgent dental care (UDC) since before 2019/20 as the county’s health service focuses on improving urgent provision.
The data shows a 5 per cent rise in urgent dental care in the 2025/26 financial year compared to the prior one, something that will be a relief to the wider health service.
A shortage of urgent dental appointments has meant increasing numbers of residents seeking treatment at accident and emergency centres, putting strain onto an already stretched part of the health service.
The government mandated NHS Devon to increase urgent dental care by 42 per cent from 2023/24 levels, and to help achieve this, the county implemented what it called “one of the most financially attractive urgent dental care schemes in the country”.
While it did not meet its target for the year ended April 2026, it noted a “distinct positive change in trajectory with the first year-on-year increase in urgent dental care activity since before 2019/20”.
A report set to go before Devon County Council’s health and adult care scrutiny committee next week (Monday 14 September), will show NHS Devon increased the minimum payment rate for urgent dental activity to £35.82, above the nationally mandated minimum of £28.
The health body added that it had secured 109,000 extra appointments per year through new dental contracts to improve access to routine care, with around a third (30 per cent) of those dedicated to urgent and unscheduled care – equivalent to approximately 27,250.
This should mean around 48,000 urgent dental appointments being available in Devon per year, given extra ones secured with existing providers.
Richard Foord MP (Liberal Democrat, Honiton & Sidmouth) has raised this issue in Parliament, stating that in 2023/24, one in every 460 people in the South West went to A&E for a dental problem.
However, the report for next week’s committee shows that the percentage of Devon residents seen by an NHS dentist in a 24-month period dropped to 25.3 per cent in April this year compared to 27.6 per cent in April last year.
“Historically, activity levels were significantly impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic,” the report states.
“While children’s access has continued to improve, adult access remains below pre-pandemic levels and continues to be affected by workforce and capacity pressures.
“NHS Devon continues to invest in additional dental capacity, workforce initiatives and targeted services to improve access; however, given the mechanics of this metric, reversing these longer-term trends will take time.”
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