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01  Voice · Sector leader · Dentistry access

Sector leader

Neil Carmichael

Executive Chair, Association of Dental Groups (ADG)

Press coverage by month · bar height shows relative volume
Dec 2025Jan 2026FebMarAprMayJuneJulyAugSeptOctNovto date
Also cited

Quoted in the press on 2 topics since 24 Oct 2025

Where their coverage sitsTop 20–50%

Voices are sorted into four fixed groups by how much press coverage they have had across all topics, from the top 5% down to the lower half. The lit step is Neil Carmichael’s group.

OfficeAssociation of Dental Groups (ADG), Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 1RNAssociation of Dental Groups (ADG) is based in Newcastle upon Tyne Central and West: the organisation’s base, not a personal address.

02  Quoted on · 1 of 29 topics

Open the topic

Neil Carmichael: key facts

Kind of voice
Sector leader
Role
Executive Chair
Organisation
Association of Dental Groups (ADG)
Organisation based in
Newcastle upon Tyne Central and West
Quoted on
Dentistry access
Press coverage
Also cited
Most recently quoted
11 Aug 2026
First quoted
24 Oct 2025

03  Profile

Who Neil Carmichael is

Neil Carmichael is Executive Chair of the Association of Dental Groups (ADG), the UK trade association for dental groups. The ADG represents dental groups across the 'mixed economy' of NHS, private and community-based dentistry.

He is also Chief Executive of UK China Education Cooperation and holds honorary professorships in education policy. He was Conservative MP for Stroud from 2010 to 2017 and chaired the Education Select Committee from 2015. In his ADG role he has argued for reforming the General Dental Council's overseas registration exam (ORE) booking system.

He sees using internationally trained dentists as a way to improve NHS dental access, and he has said the UK urgently needs more dentists.

Notable achievements

  1. 01

    Elected chair of the Education Select Committee in 2015; MP for Stroud 2010-17 Source ↗

  2. 02

    Led the ADG as membership reached a record 30 UK dental groups in January 2026 Source ↗

  3. 03

    Took the Antarctic Act 2013 through Parliament and established the All-Party Parliamentary Group on School Leadership and Governance Source ↗

  4. 04

    Author of British Dental Journal articles on the ADG's future vision of dentistry (2024) and on NHS dentistry one year into the new Government (2025) Source ↗

04  The signal · where Neil Carmichael sits on dentistry access

Leading

One of the voices most often quoted in the press on dentistry access.

Placed by press coverage on this topic only, not across all topics.

  1. Eddie Crouch portraitEddie CrouchUnionChair of the Principal Executive Committee (BDA Chair), British Dental AssociationLeading
  2. Shiv Pabary portraitShiv PabaryClinicianChair, General Dental Practice Committee, British Dental AssociationLeading
  3. Jason Wong portraitJason WongRegulatorChief Dental Officer for England, NHS England (joint appointment with the Department of Health and Social Care, based in NHS England)Leading
  4. Neil Carmichael portraitNeil CarmichaelSector leaderExecutive Chair, Association of Dental Groups (ADG)Leading
  5. Mark Dayan portraitMark DayanThink tankPolicy Analyst and Head of Public Affairs, Nuffield TrustLeading
  6. Dr Oosh Devalia portraitDr Oosh DevaliaClinicianPresident, British Society of Paediatric Dentistry (BSPD)Leading

Showing the voices at the top of the topic · See every voice on the topic →

05  On the record · press

What Neil Carmichael has said

By outlet · bar length shows relative volume
  • dentistry.co.uk
  • gov.uk
  • bbc.co.uk
  • chroniclelive.co.uk
  • independent.co.uk

Where Neil Carmichael has been quoted

  1. James Frith appointed as dental minister: here’s everything you need to knowdentistry.co.uk · 11 Aug 2026
  2. Dentists fear 'tsunami' of extra work as Turkey-teeth generation agesthesun.co.uk · 5 Mar 2026
  3. Dentists warn of surge in demand as UK's elderly retain more teethindependent.co.uk · 4 Mar 2026
  4. Pledged 700,000 extra appointments expanded to non-urgent casesdentistry.co.uk · 23 Feb 2026
  5. Patients to benefit from improved access to dental appointments - GOV.UKgov.uk · 21 Feb 2026
  6. Major changes to help NHS dental patients access urgent appointments easier | Chronicle Livechroniclelive.co.uk · 16 Dec 2025
  7. Major boost for millions of NHS dental patients - GOV.UKgov.uk · 16 Dec 2025
  8. More money for dentists and £150 NHS dental vouchers proposed in new report - My Londonmylondon.news · 15 Dec 2025
  9. Reeves calls on regulator to investigate steep private dental chargesmoneyweek.com · 19 Nov 2025
  10. Concerns NHS find-a-dentist website is a 'work of fiction'bbc.co.uk · 13 Nov 2025
  11. Only one quarter of DCPs deliver mostly NHS treatmentdentistry.co.uk · 24 Oct 2025

How we found the articles that name Neil Carmichael: we searched news for these terms.

  • NHS dentistry
  • NHS dentist
  • dental access
  • dentist shortage
  • dental desert
  • dental contract
  • dental charges
  • dental check-up

Also searched with “NHS dentistry” in each of 8 national papers, and in the Guardian by editor tag, and in trade press by category. Every term for Dentistry access

Verbatim

“We warmly welcome James Frith and look forward to working with him. Under Stephen Kinnock's term, the ADG made considerable progress in addressing the massive workforce gap, and we now look to him to ensure the implementation of the interventions he announced.”
Executive chair, Association of Dental Groups (ADG) · Dentistry access · dentistry.co.uk · 11 Aug 2026 · Read the article
“We will be facing a dentistry silver tsunami if we are not careful, so it is important now for all healthcare professionals - from dentistry, to health and social care - to work together to deliver the solutions.”
executive chairman, Association of Dental Groups (ADG) · Dentistry access · thesun.co.uk · 5 Mar 2026 · Read the article
“Today, oral healthcare provision is already stretched with gaps in the workforce, tomorrow this will become even more acute.”
ADG executive chairman · Dentistry access · independent.co.uk · 4 Mar 2026 · Read the article
“The progress made in the delivery of dental appointments is fantastic to hear.”
Executive chair of the Association of Dental Groups · Dentistry access · dentistry.co.uk · 23 Feb 2026 · Read the article
“We need to come together now as a profession to support this intervention to succeed, and the ADG recommends that ICBs should act quickly now to implement these changes in their local areas, so patients benefit.”
Executive Chair, Association of Dental Groups (ADG) · gov.uk · 21 Feb 2026 · Read the article
“We broadly welcome the dental contract reforms and look forward to receiving more details as soon as possible in the new year so that practices have the time and ability to prepare to implement these changes.”
Executive Chair, The Association of Dental Groups (ADG) · Dentistry access · chroniclelive.co.uk · 16 Dec 2025 · Read the article
“We broadly welcome the dental contract reforms and look forward to receiving more details as soon as possible in the new year so that practices have the time and ability to prepare to implement these changes.”
Executive Chair, Association of Dental Groups (ADG) · gov.uk · 16 Dec 2025 · Read the article
“There are a number of factors that have conspired over time to put dentistry in the state it is in today. We urgently need reform.”
executive chairman of the Association of Dental Groups · Dentistry access · mylondon.news · 15 Dec 2025 · Read the article
“Without a significant increase in new dentists, consequential inflationary pressures are bound to be felt across the sector. Many ADG members have already found recent increases in national insurance and costs for essential supplies to be difficult to absorb.”
executive chair of the Association of Dental Groups (ADG) · Dentistry access · moneyweek.com · 19 Nov 2025 · Read the article
“NHSE may be either slow or reluctant to update their website with these depressing facts, and it is our ADG members who own the dental practices that are having to deliver the bad news to patients.”
Executive chair, Association of Dental Groups · Dentistry access · bbc.co.uk · 13 Nov 2025 · Read the article
“These figures provided today by the GDC will help to fine-tune our current understanding of dental team workforce patterns. Being able to identify challenges will enable us to plan, meaning that the input we give for the NHS 10 Year Workforce Plan will be better informed.”
executive chair at the Association of Dental Groups · Dentistry access · dentistry.co.uk · 24 Oct 2025 · Read the article

Related media coverage

Recent UK press coverage of their topics, not necessarily citing them directly.

06  Sources

References for this biography

  1. Meet the Board - Association of Dental Groups. Role as Executive Chair of the ADG and CEO of UK China Education Cooperation. Also his honorary professorship, his time as MP for Stroud, his Education Select Committee chairmanship and other background.
  2. Neil Carmichael - GDC Dental Leadership Network speaker profile. Parliamentary background, the Antarctic Act 2013, the APPG on School Leadership and Governance, and trustee roles.
  3. Neil Carmichael, Author at Dentistry.co.uk. His ADG position and his published arguments on the overseas registration exam, NHS dental access and workforce.
  4. ADG membership reaches record 30 UK dental groups - Dentistry. ADG's role as a trade body, its membership figures, and Carmichael's quoted comments as executive chair.
  5. The new Government one year on: what's changed in NHS dentistry? (BDJ 2025). Authorship and his affiliations (Honorary Professor at UCL, UCEC chief executive, ADG Executive Chair).
  6. Association of Dental Groups (@ADG_Dental) on X. The ADG's exec chair uses the handle @carmichaelneil_. Also his comments that the UK urgently needs more dentists and that India has dentist talent.
  7. Neil Carmichael - LinkedIn. LinkedIn profile whose summary describes him as Executive Chair of the ADG.
  8. Contact Us - Association of Dental Groups. ADG general enquiries email and the address 17 Queens Lane, Newcastle Upon Tyne, NE1 1RN.
  9. ASSOCIATION OF DENTAL GROUPS - Companies House. Registered office at 17 Queens Lane, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 1RN.
  10. Home - Association of Dental Groups. ADG is the UK trade association for dental groups, representing 37 groups and over 2,000 practices.

07  Contact & links

LinkedIn
linkedin.com/in/neilcarmichaeldunshiel
X
x.com/carmichaelneil_published here ↗
Staff page
theadg.co.uk/meet-the-board
Press office email
admin@theadg.co.ukpublished here ↗

Organisational contact points only, each taken from a page the organisation publishes itself. No personal or direct contact details are held or shown.

Chief executives, directors and spokespeople of trade bodies, representative associations and charities speaking for the sector. Citations are counted by an automated scan of UK press coverage and may be incomplete. Roles, biographies and contact details are researched and human-reviewed before they appear here; anything not yet reviewed is simply absent rather than shown unverified. This profile was last updated on 13 Nov 2026. See the methodology for how this page is built, or email contact@bridgeheadcommunications.com to correct anything on it.