UK dental access data
As of 14 November 2026, 21% of the 3,809 NHS practices listed on OpenWide (782) were accepting new adult NHS patients. The figures cover all 9,365 UK practices we list, NHS and private; NHS rates use the NHS practices only. Free to cite under CC BY 4.0.
Last updated . Suggested citation: OpenWide, “UK dental access data”, 14 November 2026, https://www.openwide.clinic/data/dental-access.
Based on 1,948 clinics with monitored live availability (n=1948). Median days from today to the next available appointment, across clinics with monitored live availability only. Not imputed for clinics without live slot data.
Dental Availability Index by city
For each city, the share of NHS practices accepting new patients (adults or children, from NHS.uk) and, for clinics whose booking systems we read, how many have appointments in the next 7 days and the median wait to the next appointment.
Of cities with at least 10 NHS practices, Bournemouth has the lowest NHS acceptance (0 of 17, 0%) and Coventry the highest (15 of 24, 63%).
| City | Practices | NHS accepting new patients | Clinics with slots (7 days) | Median wait |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Basingstoke | 21 | 0 of 8 (0%) | 1 | Same day |
| Bath | 30 | 1 of 13 (8%) | 8 | Same day |
| Birmingham | 190 | 32 of 52 (62%) | 35 | Same day |
| Blackburn | 29 | 4 of 10 (40%) | 1 | Same day |
| Blackpool | 24 | 0 of 5 (0%) | 2 | Same day |
| Blandford Forum | 2 | n/a | 1 | Same day |
| Bolton | 43 | 4 of 12 (33%) | 15 | Same day |
| Bournemouth | 41 | 0 of 17 (0%) | 10 | Same day |
| Bradford | 61 | 1 of 18 (6%) | 5 | Same day |
| Bridport | 3 | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| Brighton | 63 | 5 of 16 (31%) | 12 | Same day |
| Bristol | 138 | 4 of 57 (7%) | 27 | Same day |
| Cambridge | 48 | 5 of 18 (28%) | 12 | Same day |
| Canterbury | 12 | 1 of 8 (13%) | 2 | Same day |
| Central London | 88 | 12 of 38 (32%) | 21 | Same day |
| Cheltenham | 36 | 1 of 14 (7%) | 9 | Same day |
| Chester | 23 | 6 of 12 (50%) | 3 | Same day |
| Christchurch | 13 | 0 of 9 (0%) | 3 | Same day |
| Coventry | 44 | 15 of 24 (63%) | 10 | Same day |
| Crawley | 25 | 1 of 5 (20%) | 6 | Same day |
| Derby | 50 | 8 of 25 (32%) | 5 | Same day |
| Doncaster | 40 | 4 of 17 (24%) | 5 | Same day |
| Dorchester | 8 | 2 of 5 (40%) | 2 | Same day |
| Durham | 16 | 0 of 9 (0%) | 2 | Same day |
| East London | 337 | 60 of 175 (34%) | 73 | Same day |
| Exeter | 25 | 0 of 12 (0%) | 3 | Same day |
| Gloucester | 23 | 2 of 11 (18%) | 4 | Same day |
| Guildford | 32 | 5 of 15 (33%) | 8 | Same day |
| Huddersfield | 50 | 8 of 22 (36%) | 5 | Same day |
| Hull | 40 | 0 of 14 (0%) | 7 | Same day |
| Ipswich | 36 | 5 of 16 (31%) | 4 | Same day |
| Leeds | 129 | 3 of 54 (6%) | 26 | Same day |
| Leicester | 103 | 9 of 37 (24%) | 20 | Same day |
| Lincoln | 24 | 1 of 8 (13%) | 1 | 3 days |
| Liverpool | 142 | 10 of 41 (24%) | 21 | Same day |
| Luton | 36 | 8 of 19 (42%) | 10 | Same day |
| Maidstone | 30 | 2 of 11 (18%) | 4 | Same day |
| Manchester | 197 | 27 of 52 (52%) | 45 | Same day |
| Middlesbrough | 36 | 3 of 18 (17%) | n/a | n/a |
| Milton Keynes | 50 | 2 of 18 (11%) | 19 | Same day |
| Newcastle | 87 | 3 of 31 (10%) | 8 | 1 day |
| North London | 260 | 59 of 148 (40%) | 60 | Same day |
| Northampton | 37 | 4 of 12 (33%) | 10 | 2 days |
| Norwich | 55 | 2 of 19 (11%) | 6 | Same day |
| Nottingham | 106 | 11 of 33 (33%) | 14 | Same day |
| Oxford | 34 | 5 of 9 (56%) | 9 | Same day |
| Peterborough | 36 | 1 of 9 (11%) | 5 | Same day |
| Plymouth | 44 | 2 of 22 (9%) | 5 | Same day |
| Poole | 24 | 0 of 8 (0%) | 4 | Same day |
| Portsmouth | 59 | 3 of 22 (14%) | 4 | 2 days |
| Preston | 50 | 2 of 20 (10%) | 6 | Same day |
| Reading | 54 | 3 of 20 (15%) | 13 | Same day |
| Sheffield | 99 | 8 of 29 (28%) | 16 | Same day |
| Sherborne | 4 | 0 of 3 (0%) | 1 | Same day |
| Slough | 41 | 5 of 12 (42%) | 6 | 2 days |
| South London | 1034 | 229 of 529 (43%) | 296 | Same day |
| Southampton | 78 | 7 of 23 (30%) | 17 | Same day |
| Southend-on-Sea | 36 | 3 of 13 (23%) | 12 | Same day |
| Stoke-on-Trent | 60 | 12 of 29 (41%) | 7 | Same day |
| Sunderland | 22 | 1 of 7 (14%) | 1 | Same day |
| Swindon | 37 | 4 of 22 (18%) | 6 | Same day |
| Telford | 22 | 4 of 11 (36%) | 5 | Same day |
| Wakefield | 26 | 1 of 12 (8%) | 6 | Same day |
| Warrington | 35 | 7 of 14 (50%) | 7 | Same day |
| Watford | 63 | 4 of 18 (22%) | 12 | Same day |
| West London | 636 | 132 of 293 (45%) | 163 | Same day |
| Weymouth | 9 | 2 of 6 (33%) | 4 | Same day |
| Wigan | 32 | 2 of 7 (29%) | 3 | Same day |
| Wolverhampton | 56 | 11 of 21 (52%) | 6 | Same day |
| Worcester | 18 | 1 of 9 (11%) | 2 | 2 days |
| York | 49 | 2 of 23 (9%) | 10 | Same day |
NHS access by region, hardest first
England's regions plus Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, ranked by the share of NHS practices accepting new adult NHS patients (lowest first). Regions with fewer than 5 NHS practices are excluded.
| Region | NHS practices | Accepting new adults | NHS acceptance rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| South West | 433 | 23 | 5% |
| North East | 132 | 8 | 6% |
| Yorkshire and the Humber | 323 | 23 | 7% |
| East of England | 310 | 40 | 13% |
| South East | 527 | 70 | 13% |
| North West | 368 | 53 | 14% |
| East Midlands | 187 | 32 | 17% |
| London | 1183 | 398 | 34% |
| West Midlands | 341 | 135 | 40% |
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