By Baba Akomolafe
This is Day 2 of our eight-part series on the lessons pharmacy can learn from dentistry’s evolution.
In this lesson, we explore how dentists stopped waiting for the NHS contract to change — and changed themselves instead.
Their shift in mindset is one pharmacy urgently needs to consider.
The Contract Didn’t Change. Dentists Did:
When dentists realised the NHS contract wasn’t going to evolve in line with modern practice, they faced a stark truth: waiting was wasting time.
Every year of frozen fees and rising costs pushed them further away from sustainability.
So they made a mindset shift that changed everything:
“If the system won’t value us, we must value ourselves.”
Rather than hoping for the contract to improve, they built a parallel path.
They introduced private channels of care, created options for patients, and reduced their dependence on a model they could not control. They fought for NHS dentistry, but they didn’t rely on it to survive.
Pharmacy is in this exact moment now. We continue to advocate for fair funding, but advocacy without diversification leaves us vulnerable.
Dentists show us that building Plan B is not abandoning Plan A, it strengthens it.
A profession with multiple income streams has negotiating power. A profession dependent on one has none.
Dentistry teaches us that the future belongs to those who act before they’re forced to.
Call to ACTION: Don’t wait for permission. Begin building your Plan B now, even one private service strengthens our sector while we fight for a better Plan A.
