By Baba Akomolafe
Welcome to Day 1 of this eight-part series exploring what community pharmacy can learn from the transformation of UK dentistry.
Today, we look at the most powerful starting point: the simple truth that dentists proved change is possible.
Their journey shows that even when the NHS model feels limiting, a new, sustainable future can still be built, one step at a time.
Dentists Proved It’s Possible:
Dentistry’s transformation is one of the most important and overlooked stories in UK primary care.
Two decades ago, dentists were facing exactly what community pharmacies face today: overwhelming NHS pressure, declining real-terms funding, rising workload, and a sense of being trapped in a system that no longer reflected their skill or contribution.
Yet dentistry did something remarkable. They changed their trajectory.
Not overnight. Not dramatically. But deliberately, one service, one mindset shift, and one brave decision at a time.
Dentists added small private services alongside their constrained NHS work.
They improved their patient experience. They invested in skills and equipment that gave them options. And slowly, their businesses became more resilient, more modern, and more profitable than the NHS alone could ever have allowed.
For pharmacists, this is more than an interesting history lesson. It’s a proof of concept.
Change is possible, even when it feels impossible.
We are not the first profession to face this crossroads, and dentistry shows that a future of sustainable, patient-paid, community-based clinical care is not only realistic but achievable.
The biggest lesson from Lesson 1 is simple:
Pharmacy’s future is bigger than its present, if we embrace a visionary approach and take the first step.
Call to ACTION: Choose one small step toward a private service and take it this month. Dentistry proved change is possible, now it’s our turn to start.
