£3.7m earmarked for new NHS dental services in Hampshire

More NHS dental appointments could be created in parts of Hampshire under a £3.7 million investment programme, councillors have been told.

NHS officials said the funding had been earmarked for additional dental services in East Hampshire, Basingstoke and Deane, Winchester and Andover.

Speaking during an update on dentistry services at Hampshire County Council on October 13, Olivia Crispin, senior commissioning manager for dentistry at NHS Hampshire and Isle of Wight, said the procurement process was still under way but had attracted encouraging interest from providers.

The funding was outlined as part of a wider update on NHS dentistry in Hampshire. However, councillors said some residents still struggle to find an NHS dentist.

Test Valley councillor Sandra Gidley told the committee: “In southern Test Valley, children can access NHS dentistry, but adults struggle to.”

“I would love to know where those NHS dentists are because I consistently receive complaints that people are struggling to access an NHS dentist.”

Cllr Gidley said residents unable to find routine appointments could end up seeking help elsewhere in the health system.

In response, James Roach, primary care director at Hampshire and Isle of Wight Integrated Care Board, said councillors would be given a breakdown of dental services available in their areas and information on how residents could access them.

He said the outcome of the procurement process would also be shared once it had been completed.

According to the report presented to the committee, NHS dental contracts treated 21,945 more patients in 2025/26 than in the previous year, with 10 of Hampshire’s 11 districts seeing an increase in the number of people treated.

The biggest increases were recorded in Havant, Gosport, Rushmoor, New Forest and Eastleigh.

NHS officials also said Hampshire and the Isle of Wight had seen more than 11,000 additional adults access NHS dental care over a two-year period and was the best-performing integrated care board in England on that measure.

The committee also heard that the NHS plans to continue and expand its mobile dental outreach service, which provides treatment in communities where people may struggle to access traditional dental practices.

The wider report highlighted work to reduce oral health inequalities through prevention programmes and partnerships with councils, as well as efforts to strengthen the future workforce through links with the University of Portsmouth’s dental school.