Barriers to preventive oral healthcare in the UK

Dental Tribune International

Fri. 11. September 2026

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WEYBRIDGE, England: Despite established guidance on preventive oral healthcare in the UK, gaps remain between policy and practice, including in how preventive advice is delivered, understood and acted upon. A recent UK-wide study explored these issues from both professional and consumer perspectives, looking at where expectations, awareness and reported practice diverge. Its findings may help inform more targeted delivery of preventive advice and support the uptake of preventive oral health behaviours.

The research comprised two survey strands. The first surveyed 505 oral health professionals on their awareness and use of preventive care guidelines and their practices and attitudes towards preventive care, as well as 2,000 consumers on their oral care practices, experiences of preventive care and preferences for receiving advice. The second surveyed 1,004 parents and 1,004 children on dental health, confidence, societal influences and dental care habits.

A key finding was a misalignment between expectations and the delivery of preventive advice. Although the majority of consumers and oral health professionals believed that all dental check-ups should include preventive oral healthcare advice, only about half of consumers reported receiving it, while just a third of oral health professionals said they consistently provided it. In addition, only around half of consumers knew that preventive oral healthcare advice was offered through the National Health Service (NHS), and only three-quarters of oral health professionals working with the NHS reported knowing that it was offered.

The consumer survey also found significant differences between male and female respondents in their interest in learning about preventive care and their awareness of NHS provision. The oral health professional survey found no significant difference between male and female providers on the question of NHS provision.

Regional variation was also reported among oral health professionals. Awareness of preventive advice being offered through the NHS ranged from just over two-fifths in Wales to over four-fifths in North West England. Furthermore, agreement that preventive care was important ranged from around half in Northern Ireland to the vast majority in Yorkshire and the Humber. The children’s reported satisfaction with the appearance of their teeth and reported dental attendance also varied between regions. The authors suggested that inequalities in access and differences in funding, policy and service delivery may contribute to these variations.

The study concluded that improving preventive oral healthcare requires better communication, greater health literacy and more consistent integration of preventive advice into routine care. The authors also suggested tailored consumer education and support for relevant professional training programmes as potential ways of addressing some of the barriers identified. These priorities are consistent with recent qualitative research that identified patient-related, dentist-related and structural barriers to implementing preventive actions in dental practice and similarly highlighted communication, professional training and institutional support as areas for improvement.

The study, titled “Barriers and disparities in preventive oral health care in the UK: Insights from oral health professionals and consumers surveys”, was published online on 25 August 2026 in BDJ Open.