Your experiences of NHS Dental services in Brighton & Hove and Sussex-wide
Report - 10th February 2025
In January 2025, Healthwatch in Sussex sought people’s experiences of NHS Dentistry. We previously asked questions about NHS Dentistry in a poll in January 2023 and wanted to see if there had been any changes over the past two years.
In January 2023, 220 people from across Sussex shared their views with us and in January 2025, 595 people responded to our dentistry poll. Of these 595, 131 lived in Brighton and Hove.
There is virtually no dentists who do NHS treatment in Brighton and Hove, at least that I could find. This means that only when I have a dental emergency, I pay a private dentist. Otherwise, I keep away from them and do not seek treatment
We heard:
- People in Brighton and Hove are still struggling to find an NHS dentist - although the struggle is slightly less than in 2023.
- For example, in 2025, 49% of our respondents said they ‘have not been able to find a dentist able to offer NHS treatment.’ This is slightly down from 52% in 2023.
- In 2025, 53% of respondents are either ‘dissatisfied’ or ‘very dissatisfied’ with the ability to find an NHS dentist in Brighton and Hove. This is also down from 66% in 2023.
- In 2025, 53% of respondents were ‘not confident' about accessing NHS dental services for themselves or their family when they need them over the next 12 months, compared to 27% of respondents who felt ‘either very confident or quite confident’. In 2023, 68% were ‘not confident' in accessing NHS dental services for themselves.
- In terms of treatment, we see quite a mixed picture with some people being quite satisfied and others dissatisfied or very dissatisfied with the dental care they have received. For example - in 2025, 49% were either ‘very satisfied or satisfied’ with treatment they received and 35% of respondents were ‘unsatisfied or very dissatisfied’ with the treatment they received.
Again, in 2023, 27% were either ‘very satisfied or satisfied with treatment and 20% were unsatisfied or very dissatisfied. (Note treatment here included both private and NHS dental care and data could not be spilt to see if there were any difference with satisfaction rates between NHS dental care and private practice dental care). - In terms of costs of dental treatment – both for NHS charges and charges for private dental treatment - 24% of respondents told us that they need dental treatment but cannot afford to pay NHS charges in 2025 (compared to 11% in 2025). 34% told us that they have not been able to receive NHS dental treatment and cannot afford to pay private treatment costs in 2025 - compared to 27% in 2023).
- 33% of respondents also told us that they are paying for treatment privately as they could not access an NHS dentist in 2025 (compared to 28% in 2023) and 23% told us they were paying for treatment privately so that they could either receive an appointment or treatment faster (compared to 5% in 2023).
I belong to a single dentist practice and it's the best practice I've ever gone to. Excellent, experienced, and kind dentist and dental nurses.
Next steps
As the public champion for local health and care services, Healthwatch will continue to work in partnership with commissioners and providers to monitor the experiences of patients and the public in accessing health and care services locally and explore how ongoing improvements may be delivered.
Downloads
Please download the following documents for the full report.
