Hundreds of local people have already received treatment at the latest new NHS dental practice to open in Somerset, where guests gathered for its ceremonial opening on 13 July 2026.
Crewkerne Dental Care, commissioned by NHS Somerset and run by Dentistry For You, first opened to patients in May 2026. More than 4,500 people – about 75% of whom come from the Crewkerne area – used an online portal and phone number in April to express an interest in treatment at the new practice. The team is now busy seeing and treating that initial group before reopening the portal, and the practice is not accepting in-person registrations at the premises at present.
Local MP Adam Dance joined Dr Esmail Harunani, partner at Dentistry For You, and Jonathan Higman, Chief Executive at NHS Somerset, to cut the ribbon to formally open the Market Street practice, watched by local stakeholders and local health and care representatives.
Dentistry For You Group Manager Elizabeth Fernandez said: “Our team has enjoyed getting to know our patients since we opened our doors in May and people have been very welcoming. Patients have been very positive about having the practice on their doorstep too.
“We hope to be able to reopen the opportunity for people to express an interest in NHS care here in due course.”
The Crewkerne practice is the third new NHS dental practice commissioned by NHS Somerset to open its doors since October 2025, after openings in Wellington and Chard. Together it is expected that these new practices will provide care for up to 20,000 people each year.
Yeovil MP Adam Dance said: “It was a pleasure to officially open Crewkerne Dental Care and see first-hand the difference it is already making for local people.
“This is the second new NHS dental practice to open in my constituency in recent months, following the opening of the new practice in Chard. These new services will make a real difference to thousands of people who have struggled to access NHS dentistry.
“I want to thank Dentistry For You, NHS Somerset and everyone involved in making this happen. It shows what can be achieved when organisations work together to improve local services.
“While this is a significant step forward, we know there is still much more to do. Too many people are still unable to access an NHS dentist, which is why I will continue pressing for the long-term reforms and investment needed to make NHS dentistry work for everyone.”
Recent figures show that NHS dentistry in the county is on the up – during 2025/26, dental teams across the county’s 52 NHS practices provided roughly 10,000 more NHS treatments than they did the previous year, halting years of declining NHS activity since the pandemic.
Jonathan Higman, Chief Executive of the new integrated care board (ICB) cluster covering Bath and North East Somerset, Swindon, Wiltshire, Dorset and Somerset, said: “It’s great to see Crewkerne Dental Care up and running – it’s already making a big difference to local people.
“The three new practices are part of our recovery plan, which is delivering better access to NHS dentistry – something that is hugely important to people in Somerset. There is more to do, and I will make sure it remains a key priority for our Somerset team.”
Crewkerne was chosen for the new practice as one of the areas of the county where more NHS appointments are most needed.
NHS Somerset is commissioning 15,500 ‘units of dental activity’ (UDAs) per year from the Crewkerne practice. Under national NHS rules, UDAs are used to pay high street dentists, which are independent private businesses.
Anyone needing emergency or urgent dental care can call NHS 111 or visit NHS 111 online at 111.nhs.uk.
Other work by NHS Somerset to increase access to NHS dentistry includes:
- Paying local dentists up to 25% more to deliver NHS care (by raising the minimum amount for each UDA delivered).
- Making more urgent dental care appointments available through local incentives and NHS 111.
- Continued investment in workforce recruitment, retention and training.
- Expansion of preventative oral health programmes across Somerset, including offering supervised toothbrushing to all primary schools
- Use of ‘golden hellos’ as incentives to dentists.
Unlike GP surgeries, NHS dental practices don’t operate a system of permanent registration. Instead, patients are seen for a specific course of treatment, and, technically speaking, once that treatment is complete, the arrangement with the dentist comes to an end. This means patients aren’t automatically entitled to ongoing care with the same dentist or practice, however, many patients do return to the same practice for future courses of treatment over a period of many years. Under national NHS regulations, dental practices cannot impose geographical limits on patient access.
