Women disproportionately affected by UK dental crisis

Dental Tribune International

Tue. 20 May 2025

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LONDON, England: The UK dental crisis is a highly significant public health issue, having escalated in recent years owing to continued reductions in government funding, personnel shortages and political neglect. The crisis has generated a variety of alarming outcomes, including clinic closures, DIY dental surgeries and extreme wait times for appointments. A new report by the National Federation of Women’s Institutes (WI) has highlighted yet another crucial aspect of the issue, namely, its gendered quality. More specifically, the study shows that the ongoing dental crisis affects women disproportionately across multiple dimensions.

Drawing upon survey data collected from over 1,000 WI members, the group’s research illuminated various ways in which women are unequally affected by the crisis, many of which stem from their prioritisation of the health of their family members over their own. This self-neglect consequently gives rise to a range of damaging scenarios, including:

giving up their own dental appointments to pay for private treatment for loved ones owing to the unavailability of National Health Service (NHS) dental services;
resorting to self-treatment with store-bought remedies, DIY fillings bought online and excessive use of painkillers to manage dental pain;
having no option but to visit emergency rooms for dental issues, including serious infections, because of the absence of accessible preventive care;
travelling as far as 400 kilometres within the UK, or even overseas, in search of reasonably priced dental treatment;
relying on credit cards, personal loans or selling property to free up funds to cover dental expenses; or
going without crucial dental check-ups during pregnancy and struggling to find any NHS dentists who will treat their children.

In her foreword to the report, Jeryl Stone, chair of the WI, underscored the societal importance of the dental crisis and the burden it places on women: “Most critically, this report is the first of its kind to highlight the gendered impacts of a failing NHS dental health service. Women are often the designated primary caregivers for their families and are therefore navigating the dental health service as carers, often sacrificing their own health in order to support their loved ones.”

Through this incisive and timely report by the WI, yet another vital aspect of the deepening UK dental crisis has been brought to light. The report shows the inextricable connections between access to dental healthcare and the structural inequalities that define our contemporary lives.

The report, titled Investigating the Gendered Impacts of the Dental Health Crisis 2025, is available to read and download on the WI’s website.