The economic cost of General Dentistry services in Northern Ireland is approximately RMB 1,300 per hour, with over 389,000 fewer patients registered for public services.

Source: Department of Health, Northern Ireland

DentalGoodNews｜On September 16, 2026, the Department of Health released the "Review of the Costs of General Dental Services (GDS) in Northern Ireland." The report estimates the economic cost centre for dental services at approximately £145 per clinical hour (about RMB 1,300); estimates across different methods range from approximately £125–160 per hour. The report also emphasises that this is not a single definitive figure, and that actual costs will vary significantly depending on practice circumstances. The report further notes by comparison that the clinical hour cost for public service items is approximately £90–93, but this figure does not equate to the full payment for public dental services, as item-of-service fees account for approximately 70% of the relevant department's dental expenditure.

The report was completed by Professor Ciaran O'Neill of Queen's University Belfast and others, adopting an "opportunity cost" framework to assess the cost of dental services, namely measuring the economic cost borne by dentists in providing public services by reference to the income they could have earned by diverting their time to private practice.

Source: Review of General Dental Services (GDS) Fees in Northern Ireland

The study shows that under two illustrative scenarios, private service income per clinical hour is approximately £320.53–346.27, while the corresponding hourly fee for public service items is approximately £89.89–92.56; calculated separately by scenario, the former is approximately 3.44–3.84 times the latter. The report links the decline in public dental registrations to providers shifting toward private services, but states that existing materials are not yet sufficient to independently prove this shift. Previous DGN reporting showed that Northern Ireland had 1,174 registered dentists in the first quarter of 2026, with each responsible for approximately 795 registered patients on average, which can serve as reference data for observing this trend.

In addition, the report shows that from the fourth quarter of the 2022/23 financial year to the third quarter of the 2025/26 financial year, the number of patients registered for public dental services in Northern Ireland decreased by 389,132; currently, less than half of the population across the region is registered for public dental services.

Source: General Dental Services Statistics 2025/26

Previously, the "2025/26 General Dental Services Statistics Report" published by the Northern Ireland Department of Health (DoH) and the Business Services Organisation (BSO) of the Health and Social Care system showed that as of the end of March 2026, Northern Ireland's public medical service dental registration rate was 49%, with an adult registration rate of 44%, and registered patients decreased by 95,000 compared with March 2025, a decline of approximately 9%.

Northern Ireland Health Minister Robbie Butler stated that the cost review provides evidence for subsequent reform of the payment system. The Department of Health said that the current fiscal situation does not yet permit a one-off investment sufficient to fully respond to the review's findings, but the department will launch a dental payment reform programme, including supporting the revaluation of the fee baseline through options appraisal, and will make the case jointly with the British Dental Association (BDA) and other stakeholders, with the subsequent proposals to enter public consultation.