Cole-Hamilton sets out Scot Lib Dem plan to end dental deserts

Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Alex Cole-Hamilton has today used a visit to a dental practice in the party’s key target region of Mid Scotland and Fife to set out plans to ensure everyone can register with and see an NHS dentist, ending ‘dental deserts’ by giving dentists a fair deal and cutting red tape.

In government, Scottish Liberal Democrats introduced free NHS dental check-ups and established a new dental school to address shortages. In the 2025/26 Scottish Budget, Scottish Liberal Democrats also secured extra training places for dentists.

The party would build on this by:

• Incorporating dentistry into a rolling, 10-year NHS and care workforce plan, and addressing the shortage of dental nurses and technicians.
• Bringing dentists back to the NHS from the private sector and retaining dentists by creating more opportunities for career development, including an expansion of Enhanced Skills Practitioners.
• Creating a structured and supportive environment for overseas-qualified dentists to provide NHS dentistry in Scotland, following the UK Government’s big expansion of their routes to registration.
• Reinvigorating the schemes for people in vulnerable groups to ensure that they can always get the appointments and check-ups they need, with every care home getting regular visits from a dentist.

Mr Cole-Hamilton said:

“From Shetland to Stranraer, I am certain that I have knocked on more doors than any other party leader. When I ask what people care about, the lack of NHS dentists is right up there alongside the state of the roads, the ferries fiasco, education slipping backwards and the cost of living crisis.

“Unlike other parties who send out angry press releases without achieving anything, Scottish Liberal Democrats get things done. In our recent budget negotiations we secured millions of pounds to expand the number of training places for dentists.

“However, there is still so much more to do. Under the SNP, there’s a scarcity of NHS dentists in huge swathes of Scotland. That’s why today I am setting out our plan to ensure that everyone can register with and see an NHS dentist.

“Scottish Liberal Democrats believe that toothcare should be like any other form of medical treatment: universally accessible and close to home.

“My message to voters who may have backed Scottish Labour and the Scottish Conservatives in the past is this: let me be straight with you. You have two votes. In our ten target constituencies we are on the verge of winning against the SNP but wherever you are, every vote for the Scottish Liberal Democrats on the second peach ballot will deliver change with fairness at its heart.

“Will you back us and help us to turf out the out of touch SNP?”