BDA tackles populist myths about migration and dental access

Fraser Macdonald, Dental Tribune International

Tue. 1 September 2026

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LONDON, England: The British Dental Association (BDA) has rejected claims that migrants receive preferential access to National Health Service (NHS) dental treatment. It argued that the real causes of the dentistry crisis lie in years of underfunding and failures within the NHS dental system.

The BDA has responded to comments made by Restore Britain’s Rupert Lowe, member of Parliament, during an appearance on The Joe Rogan Experience podcast, where he claimed that migrants “go to the top of the waiting list for dental treatment, which British people don’t get”. The association said this is inaccurate and risks fuelling harmful misconceptions about access to NHS dentistry.

According to a recent BDA press release, issued in response to the claims, migrants do not receive preferential access to NHS dental care. While dedicated commissioning exists for a small number of migrants held in immigration detention, this is comparable to arrangements for other prisoners in custody. Typical migrants are directed towards dental services, but face the same difficulties securing NHS treatment as UK residents do.

The scale of the wider crisis remains severe, and more than 13 million people in England experience unmet need for NHS dental care. The BDA argued that migration is not responsible for the pressures facing the service, pointing instead to cuts to dental funding and a broken NHS contract that has contributed to dentists leaving NHS practice. The BDA also highlighted the contribution of overseas-trained dentists, arguing that migrant dentists have helped maintain a service on which millions rely.

BDA Chair Dr Eddie Crouch said: “Yes, NHS dental care is in crisis, but migrants are not at the front of the queue.” He added: “Mr Lowe’s statement was both factually incorrect and potentially dangerous rhetoric.”

Lowe subsequently criticised the BDA, stating: “The BDA should be ashamed of themselves.” The association rejected this and reaffirmed its position that public debate should be based on evidence rather than misleading claims.

This is not the first time that the BDA has addressed what it said are damaging false claims made by conservative populist political factions. In 2024, for example, politicians in the UK argued that it was migration that was acting as a key exacerbating factor in the NHS dental crisis, an assertion that proved baseless. The BDA concluded that addressing NHS dentistry requires meaningful reform and fair funding, not blaming of migrants for problems created by longstanding systemic pressures.