NHS Dentistry IT Challenges: What the 10-Year Plan Means

NHS dentistry is at a turning point. Satisfaction with NHS dental services has fallen to 69% from 85% in 2019, and the British Dental Association estimates 13 million adults - more than one in four - are struggling to access NHS dental care. The NHS 10-Year Plan recognises this crisis, pledging urgent improvements in access, prevention, and workforce reform.

But behind every ambition lies a hidden dependency: robust, secure IT infrastructure. Without it, practices risk being unable to deliver the reforms the Plan calls for. 

While NHS referrals and treatments remain a vital public service, the reality for many dental practices is that their financial sustainability relies heavily on private procedures. These cover significant costs (from specialist machinery to staff salaries) that NHS funding alone does not meet. To thrive, practices must be able to support both NHS commitments and private service delivery, and strong IT foundations are critical to making that balance work.

The IT Challenge for Dental Practices

For practice managers and IT leads, day-to-day realities can make NHS goals feel out of reach:

• Legacy systems slow staff down, cause delays, and frustrate patients.

• Fragmented software makes it harder to share data securely or integrate with NHS systems.

• Cybersecurity risks threaten both patient trust and business continuity.

The 2022 Adastra ransomware attack is a stark reminder. When the widely used patient management system was taken offline for weeks, many NHS dental practices reverted to paper records, missed referrals, and faced financial losses. It wasn’t their fault, the software supplier was targeted – but the impact was severe.

The lesson is clear: when IT foundations are weak, dentistry cannot deliver consistent, safe, or accessible care.

The Future of Dentistry is Digital

As the NHS 10-Year Plan puts children’s oral health and prevention at the top of the agenda, dental practices are embracing a new wave of digital tools and innovations.

• Teledentistry – virtual consultations to widen access.

• AI diagnostics – early detection of cavities or oral disease.

• Laser dentistry – minimally invasive, faster-recovery treatments.

• 3D printing – same-day crowns, bridges, and prosthetics.

• Digital Smile Design – tailoring treatments with 3D visualisation.

• Intraoral scanners – eliminating messy impressions while improving accuracy and patient comfort.

• CAD/CAM technology – in-house fabrication of restorations, reducing lab costs and turnaround times.

These innovations promise better outcomes, enhanced patient experiences, and crucially for practice sustainability, improved revenue opportunities across both NHS and private work. But every single one depends on a secure, high-performing, and scalable IT network. Without it, even the most advanced dental technology sits idle, unable to deliver its potential.

Addressing Revenue Realities

While NHS contract reform remains critical, the financial reality for most dental practices is more complex. Private dentistry generates the majority of practice revenue, with high-value procedures like cosmetic treatments, implants, and orthodontics requiring sophisticated technology and seamless patient experiences.

Modern patients expect digital consultations, online booking systems, instant treatment visualisations, and integrated payment processing. When IT systems fail, practices don't just lose NHS referrals - they lose private patients to competitors with smoother, more professional digital experiences.

The result isn't just about having more time to focus on patients - it's about being adequately compensated for complex procedures and running an efficient, profitable practice that can invest in quality care.

Contract Reform: The Current Reality

While the NHS 10-Year Plan sets ambitious long-term goals for 2035, dental practices are facing immediate pressures that require urgent attention. Contract reforms are being discussed to address funding gaps for complex cases, prevention activities, and quality improvements, but the timeline between current needs and future transformation creates challenges for practices.

Many practices are caught between delivering today's services under existing constraints while preparing for tomorrow's digital transformation. This implementation gap means practices need IT infrastructure that can adapt quickly to changing requirements and support both current operations and future innovations.

How Cloud Gateway Supports Dentistry's Transformation

Cloud Gateway provides the IT backbone dental practices need to deliver against both the NHS 10-Year Plan and patient expectations:

• Secure by default: Our solutions meet NHS and GDPR data security standards out of the box, reducing compliance headaches.

• Fast to deploy: We help practices get connected quickly, supporting compliance processes so they can go live faster.

• Flexible and scalable: Practices can scale bandwidth up or down and choose shorter 12-month contracts, avoiding long-term lock-ins.

• Resilient connectivity: Networks are designed to protect against disruption and ensure continuity of care.

• Integration ready: Practices can connect seamlessly with NHS systems and integrate emerging dental technologies hosted in the cloud.

We understand that the main challenge isn’t simply having “more time with patients” but ensuring dentistry is fairly paid for prevention and complex cases, while balancing NHS obligations with the financial sustainability of private work. That’s why we focus on reducing operational friction, improving patient experiences, and creating more opportunities to capture revenue across all service lines.

Aligning with the NHS 10-Year Plan

Cloud Gateway’s infrastructure supports practices in three key phases of the NHS Plan:

• Short term: Resilient networks to stabilise services, safeguard against cyber risks, and protect urgent care delivery.

• Medium term: Seamless integration into NHS systems to support contract reform, fairer funding models, and collaborative working.

• Long term: A scalable digital foundation enabling prevention-first care, adoption of new technologies, and equitable access for all.

By “fixing the foundations” of IT, dental practices not only protect themselves today, but also prepare for the transformation the NHS is driving toward 2035.

Building Dentistry's Digital Future

Investing in IT infrastructure is a vital step in the right direction. It won’t by itself resolve the structural issues at the heart of NHS dentistry (from funding challenges to contract reform) but without strong IT foundations, no amount of reform will translate into real change on the ground.

This is where Cloud Gateway comes in. While government discussions on sustainable funding and systemic reform continue, we help practices take practical steps today: modernising networks, strengthening cybersecurity, and enabling the adoption of digital dentistry tools that support both NHS and private care.

IT infrastructure may not solve every problem dentistry faces - but it ensures practices are resilient, efficient, and ready to benefit when policy changes arrive.

With Cloud Gateway, dental practices can move confidently into the future: aligned with NHS priorities, able to grow private services, and prepared to adapt while the wider system catches up.

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