Lib Dems hit out at ‘SNP decay’ as hundreds of dentists take early retirement

Figures showing almost 950 dentists have taken early retirement in the last decade have been branded a sign of “SNP decay”.

Liberal Democrats hit out after research by the party showed that 999 dentists in Scotland have retired since 2015 – with 946 of them leaving their job before reaching the state retirement age.

This means over the past decade 94.7% of dentists have retired early, the party calculated.

Liberal Democrat Scottish affairs spokesperson at Westminster, Susan Murray, complained that situation meant that “under the SNP, many Scots can’t find an NHS dentist for miles”.

As a result, she said, patients are being left in “agony”, with some resorting to “forking out for treatment abroad, or buying tools off Amazon to do the job themselves”.

The Lib Dem MP added: “As the party that was instrumental in introducing free, dental check-ups, Scottish Liberal Democrats have a long history of delivering for NHS dentistry.

“We pressed for a dental school to address the shortage of dentists in remote and rural areas and we secured money this year to increase dentist training places.

“Patients and staff all deserve better than almost two decades of SNP decay.”

She added that Liberal Democrats have a “realistic plan” to tackle issues in the sector including “ending dental deserts, prioritising workforce planning and boosting the number of dentists taking on NHS patients”.

The Scottish Government said, however, that the number of high street dentists had increased by more than 6% from September 2024 to September 2025.

And public health minister Jenni Minto stated: “We have set out a package of actions supported by new funding to sustain and improve the NHS dental workforce now and into the future.”

Ms Minto added: “Dentists may, as with almost any professionals, make the personal decision to retire before state retirement age, however, through continued significant investment we have more high-street dentists than pre-pandemic.

“NHS dental services also continue to perform well at a national level, with more than 1.1 million courses of NHS dental treatment delivered to patients in the quarter ending September 2025.”