From Scottish dentistry student numbers increase, published 22 January 2026 11:35

The number of Scottish students starting Bachelor of Dental Surgery (BDS) courses has increased by 7% – the highest increase in a decade.

The boost in student numbers fulfils a Scottish Government pledge to deliver an expanded pipeline of new dentists joining the workforce from 2029. The increase, which came in 2025-26, will be further supported by the Draft Budget for 2026-27 which outlines record funding of over £526.5 million for the sector.

The number of Scottish students starting BDS courses has risen by 10 places, up from 135 in September 2024 to 145 from September 2025.

https://www.gov.scot/news/scottish-dentistry-student-numbers-increase/

Media coverage in Scotland? None I can see.

How much does Scotland need this increase?

Not as much as NHS England. See:

BBC Breakfast had extended and intensive coverage on the dentistry crisis in England, with the above images of queues around the block to even get on a dentist’s waiting list, and a minister admitting that folk are using pliers on themselves, 18 months after his government came to power.

BBC Scotland is not covering this topic.

Here’s why:

Shocking contrast as nearly twice as many Scots have access to an NHS dentist as those in England

The above table from Public Health Scotland today, reveals a very high level of access to free NHS dental treatment in Scotland – 90% of children and 97% of adults with 100% access for some age groups.

Source: https://www.publichealthscotland.scot/publications/nhs-dental-data-monitoring-report/nhs-dental-data-monitoring-report-quarter-ending-september-2025/

When I searched for equivalent data for England, what I found shocked me. From the ONS in September 2024:

Overall, 52.1% of adults reported having an NHS dentist, 34.2% have a private dentist, 13.5% did not have a dentist and 0.2% used a dental hospital.

Females were more likely (54.1%) than males (50.0%) to have an NHS dentist, while males were more likely (16.0%) than females (11.1%) to not have a dentist.

Those aged between 16 and 24 years were significantly more likely to have an NHS dentist (70.9%), compared with all other age groups; meanwhile those aged between 25 and 44 years were significantly more likely to not have a dentist compared with all other age groups. https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/healthandsocialcare/healthcaresystem/bulletins/experiencesofnhshealthcareservicesinengland/september2025#dental-care

Imagine this was the other way round? BBC Scotland would have us sick to the back etc….