The Scottish Greens have pledged to abolish all NHS dental charges as part of plans to restore access to dentistry and bring services fully into public provision.
The proposal aims to deliver free dental care at the point of use, aligning dentistry with the wider principles of the NHS across Scotland.
Under current arrangements, adults can pay up to £384 for a course of NHS treatment, while access to appointments remains inconsistent, with many practices no longer accepting new NHS patients.
This has led to growing reliance on private care, with patients often forced to pay out of pocket or face delays in treatment.
The Greens say their plan would remove all charges and expand the role of dental therapists to increase capacity and reduce waiting times.
By allowing therapists to carry out more routine treatments, the approach is designed to free up dentists to focus on more complex procedures while improving access across the system.
Commenting, Scottish Greens co leader Gillian Mackay said:
“Dental care should be treated like the rest of our NHS, free at the point of use and readily available for everybody.
“Too many people are either living in pain or opting to pay for healthcare that is supposed to be free, because the system is not working as it should.
“Scotland has been promised time and time again that our dental system would have equal access and dental charges would be abolished, but those promises have not been delivered.
“Our NHS is supposed to be for everyone, but when it comes to dental care, it has become a postcode lottery.
“Just getting an NHS dentist appointment in the first place has become far too difficult for far too many people across Scotland.
“The Scottish Greens will expand the role of Dental Therapists, so that more people can be registered, creating more appointments and reducing waiting times, all while allowing dentists to focus on the treatments which specifically require their expertise.
“On 7th May, voting for the Scottish Greens means getting a dental appointment, ending charges in our NHS, and building a dental service that works for everyone, not just those who can afford to go private.”
The announcement places dental care firmly back into the political spotlight, with access, affordability and capacity emerging as key issues ahead of the upcoming election.
For many across Scotland, the debate reflects a broader question about how public services are delivered and whether the NHS can return to its founding principle of care based on need rather than ability to pay.
