When you need to see a GP, you can - though you might have to wait a couple of weeks. 

But half the people who need an NHS dentist have no realistic chance of finding one. 

Tooth pain is agonising. So why is dentistry so neglected by the government? Is it because we prefer to think bad teeth are … well … probably your own fault?

Ros Taylor asks professor of dentistry Ian Mills why it's so hard to find an NHS dentist and how the way we think about our teeth has changed since the war. And Dr Charlotte Sleigh tells the story of the furious campaign against fluoridation in the 1960s.

The British Dental Association's Dental Witness Seminars: dentistry in the UK since 1948 (N.H.F. Wilson and S. Gerbier, 2016), the House of Commons' Health: Fifth Report (2008) and the Committee of Public Accounts' Fixing NHS Dentistry: 21st Report of Session 2024-25 (April 2025) were invaluable.

Dr Charlotte Sleigh talks about her Royal Society report, Fluoridation of drinking water in the UK, c1962-67: A case study in scientific misinformation before social media.

Seth Thévoz read speeches by Lord Douglas of Bardoch, John Cronin MP and Michael Meacher MP, all from Hansard.

The Fudge advert is part of a YouTube compilation. Toothpaste ads are Gibbs SR (1955) and Aquafresh. Public information ads are Look After Your Teeth (1979) and Jeremy's Toothache (1975).

Audio editing is by David Turnbull. More Jam Tomorrow is a KTC production.