Bupa to close 85 dental practices across UK with 1,200 staff affected - full list

Bupa Dental Care has announced it will be cutting 85 dental practices, including a number in Greater Manchester, after struggling to recruit dentists to deliver NHS care. A list of practices that will be closed, or are under review to be sold or merged with other practices, was released today.

Practices earmarked for closure in our region include Bupa Dental Care Rochdale and Manchester Cheadle Dental and Implant Clinic. Bupa Dental Care Ashton-in-Makerfield, near Wigan, and Total Orthodontics Wigan are said to be practices under review.

Bupa said the move would affect around 1,200 staff across the country. The healthcare group said patients at the affected practices have not been able to access the NHS dental service they need.

Bupa, which provides NHS and private dental care, said the 85 practices will be closed, sold or merged later this year, bringing the total number of practices in the UK down to 365.

All the practices will remain open as usual in the meantime. The move will affect 1,200 employed and self-employed staff, representing more than a tenth of its 9,000-strong workforce.

Bupa said it would redeploy affected staff where possible to different areas of the business. The provider has not been able to recruit enough dentists to deliver NHS care in many practices for months and in some cases years, it said.

National shortages of dentists have been worsened by the NHS contract model, and because of an increased demand and complexity of care since the Covid pandemic, Bupa warned.

The industry has also been affected by inflation and higher energy prices, increasing the cost to run patient services.

Mark Allan, general manager for Bupa Dental Care, said: "As a leading dental provider in the UK, our priority must