22 September 2025

The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) and NHS England have announced the formation of a single Joint Executive Team, bringing together leadership across both organisations as part of the transition to one organisation. The new structure, due to begin on 3 November 2025, includes senior roles covering medicine, nursing, social care, research, and national health priorities.

While we welcome the ambition to streamline leadership and reallocate resources into frontline patient care, the Oral Health Foundation is deeply concerned that oral health has been excluded from both the new executive structure and the list of National Priority Programmes.

Commenting on the announcement, Dr Nigel Carter, chief executive of the Oral Health Foundation, said: “Oral health is an integral part of overall health, yet remains one of the UK’s most neglected health inequalities. This omission risks undermining progress already being made through national initiatives such as Smile for Life, Mouth Care Matters, and supervised toothbrushing schemes, which have proven impact in reducing oral disease burden.

“We urge the Joint Executive Team to ensure that oral health is represented at the highest level within this new structure, and that prevention, access to NHS dentistry, and population oral health programmes are prioritised alongside other areas of health policy. The Oral Health Foundation stands ready to work with DHSC and NHS England to embed oral health firmly within the nation’s health agenda.”

The Oral Health Foundation will continue to advocate for oral health to be fully recognised within national health priorities, ensuring that every person has the opportunity to benefit from better oral and overall health.