The future of dentistry in England: A vision for 2050 - From access crisis to health creation: Prevention, integration and public value.

By 2050, dentistry could be transformed by regenerative science, artificial intelligence, remote monitoring and more integrated digital records. The central question is whether those advances translate into better oral health for all or widen existing inequalities in access and outcomes. Many of the enabling technologies are already emerging; the more important question is how they are organised, commissioned and distributed. This paper argues for a shift from episodic repair towards health creation: preventing disease, identifying risk earlier, preserving tissue and function, and connecting oral health with wider care across the life course. It contrasts two possible futures and proposes five commissioning imperatives: commission for health, build connected pathways, strengthen dental data infrastructure, use the whole workforce and translate innovation equitably. The future of dentistry will depend less on scientific capability than on how systems organise and distribute it.