Plans to fix NHS dental care and save patients hundreds of pounds

People needing urgent dental treatment and patients requiring complex care will be prioritised under Government plans to improve access to NHS dentists in England.

The British Dental Association says the reforms are the biggest changes to what it describes as a “failed contract” since it was introduced nearly 20 years ago.

The Government says that its proposals mean that those needing more complicated care, requiring numerous appointments, could save up to £225.

For years, many patients have found it increasingly hard to access services, with some towns in England referred to as “dental deserts”, having no available NHS dentists at all.

Under the plans there would be new incentives for dentists to offer longer term treatments for major issues such as gum disease and tooth decay through the NHS.

Currently, a patient with tooth decay in several teeth or severe gum disease – both of which require complex treatment – would need to be treated over multiple appointments, which is costly and time consuming.

But under the Government’s proposed changes to the dental contract for NHS work, dental practices would be able to offer patients a single comprehensive package of treatment over a longer period, tailored to their needs.

Ministers argue that this could save a patient up to £225 in fees.

Speaking on Radio 4’s Today, health minister Stephen Kinnock said the plans were intended to “prioritise” urgent care.

He said there was “a lot of unnecessary routine care going on,” in NHS dentistry services at the moment.

If a patient has “good oral health” he said they don’t need to see a dentist “more than about once every two years.”

He said the current practice of most patients being offered NHS check-ups every six months was “not the right use” of dentists’ time, and that it is “sucking up a lot of money in NHS dentistry”.

Under the current system, which dates back to 2006, dentists are paid for what are called Units of Dental Activity, known as UDAs.

Different procedures – fillings, extractions and more complicated work – are assigned a different number of UDAs.

Dentists who provide NHS care have a contract that says how many UDAs they will carry out each year and are paid accordingly.

But this has meant that more money was available to dentists for carrying out simple check-ups, rather than spending longer with patients who needed more complex, time-consuming care.

Mr Kinnock said there were more changes to come for the sector.

He said the government had a “massive” issue to fix in dental care across the country.

“We are also doing radical overhaul of the NHS dentistry contract from top to bottom, but that needs to be negotiated with the British Dental Association, of course.

“So there’s a lot done and a lot more to do. This is a big step in the right direction.”

For years dentists have been complaining that the contract for NHS work fails to cover the costs of what they’re being asked to carry out.

As a result many dentists have been walking away from NHS work – meaning it’s increasingly hard for people to access care.

That has led to the creation of what’s become know as “dental deserts” – parts of the country where there is simply access to NHS dentistry.

Shiv Pabary, chair of the BDA’s General Dental Practice Committee said “a dental crisis” had come about directly as a result of the contract put in place in 2006.

“The reforms announced today are trying to tweak a system that’s broken.”

He added that until the “chronic underfunding” and wider systemic problems were addressed, NHS dentistry would continue to fail to work for “dentists and for patients”.

“To try and deliver comprehensive care within the same budget that we have at the moment is going to be hugely challenging.”