Fewer patients seen by NHS dentists in north Wales as Welsh rate stays flat
The number of patients treated by NHS dentists in north Wales fell in each of the last three quarters, according to new Welsh Government figures published on 22 April 2026.
Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board had 233,622 patients treated in the 24-month period ending 31 December 2025.
That is down from 236,950 in the 24-month period to 30 September 2025, and 239,702 in the period to 30 June 2025.
The figures are published by the Welsh Government using data from the NHS Business Services Authority.
The Welsh Government describes the all-Wales rate as broadly stable.
Across Wales, just over 1 million adults, or 40.0% of the adult population, were treated in the 24 months ending 31 December 2025.
That is 0.3 percentage points lower than in the equivalent period a year earlier.
The 40.0% figure means six in ten adults in Wales did not visit an NHS dentist in the two years ending 31 December 2025.
Just over 295,000 children, or 47.5% of the child population, were treated in the 12 months ending 31 December 2025.
That figure is 0.2 percentage points higher than in the 12 months ending 31 December 2024.
The 47.5% figure means just over half of children in Wales did not see an NHS dentist in the 12 months ending 31 December 2025.
The number of courses of treatment provided across Wales fell by 2.4% in the October to December 2025 quarter compared with the same period a year earlier.
The quarterly figure of over 343,000 courses of treatment was 41.2% below the last equivalent quarter unaffected by the pandemic, October to December 2019.
In the Betsi Cadwaladr area, the number of children treated in the latest 12-month period also dropped.
The 53,640 children treated in the year to 31 December 2025 was 575 fewer than in the 12 months to 30 September 2025, and 376 fewer than in the 12 months to 30 June 2025.
Deeside.com previously reported that in the 12 months to 30 June 2025, the Betsi Cadwaladr child treatment rate was 40.6%, the lowest in Wales and 7.6 percentage points below the Welsh average.
Before the pandemic, in the 12 months ending March 2020, 54.6% of children in the Betsi Cadwaladr area were treated by an NHS dentist.
The health board covers Flintshire, Wrexham, Denbighshire, Conwy, Gwynedd and Anglesey.
Welsh Government data does not break down NHS dental figures to county or town level.
Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board has been in special measures since February 2023.
A progress report published in March 2026 noted that north Wales has seen the largest number of NHS dental contract terminations of any Welsh health board, with 17 since the start of contract reform in April 2022 and five more confirmed by the end of March 2026.
Welsh Government dental contract reform was announced in September 2025.
Data for April to December 2025 is provisional and will be revised at the end of the financial year, according to the Welsh Government release.
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