General Dental Practice Committee argues that 2.3% rise in dentist charges will impact patients but will not help a struggling service.
Dentist charges in England are expected to rise by an average of 2.3% from the beginning of April 2025 in a move that has been severely criticised by the sector.
The rise means that the cost of a treatment like a check-up will increase from £26.80 to £27.40, a procedure like a filling will increase from £73.50 to £75.30, and those like dentures will increase from £319.10 to £326.70.
“This hike is reheated austerity,” said General Dental Practice Committee (GDPC) chair Shiv Pabary. “It won’t put a penny into a struggling service. Our patients are paying more, just so ministers can pay less.”
The GDPC and not-for-profit political-activism organisation 38 Degrees have joined forces to call on chancellor Rachel Reeves and health secretary Wes Streeting, not merely to abandon the hike, but to ensure the coming Spending Review puts in place sustainable funding for the service that does not target hard-pressed patients.
The government’s approach to the sector is being criticised across party lines.
“NHS dentistry is utterly broken,” said Adrian Ramsay, co-leader of the Green Party. “Make no mistake, rise in dental charges is, in effect, a cut in services.”
He continued: “It will not help dentists or services, let alone deliver for patients. This increase won’t solve the root problems of the crisis in dentistry, nor will it stop the exodus of dentists from the NHS. The government must immediately step in and provide adequate central funding for dentistry combined with a review of the dental contract to make it economic for dentists to work in the NHS.”
