Website of the Department of Health

New deal for patients to boost access to NHS dentists

New ways of improving access to NHS dental services and assuring high quality of care are set out today in an independent review.

Health Secretary, Andy Burnham welcomed the review which has been developed following extensive engagement with patients, dental professionals and the NHS since the review team’s appointment in December 2008.

The independent review team recognises that access to NHS dentistry is improving following work by the Department of Health and the NHS, including establishing new dental surgeries. This was demonstrated in a Which? survey published last week that showed that nine out of ten people who tried to get an NHS dentist in the last two years were able to get one.  It also reports that the dental reforms of 2006, especially the focus on ensuring local services meet local needs, provide a firm basis for the future of NHS dentistry. 

However, the review recognises that more needs to be done to improve NHS dentistry for patients, and the review team recommends improvements must be piloted to promote better access, prevention and high quality patient care.  The review recommends new ways of encouraging dentists to take on new patients to provide quality care and outlines steps the NHS can take to help patients register with an NHS dentist.

From this autumn, selected dental practices will pilot some of the independent review team’s recommendations including:

• Linking a significant part of dentists’ income to the number of NHS patients registered with them, not just the number of treatments they provide;
• Making dentists more explicitly accountable for providing high quality and long lasting treatments (e.g. fillings and root canals) and supporting dentists to take time to advise patients on preventive care;
• Defining more clearly the rights that patients can expect when they register with an NHS dentist, both for urgent treatment and continuing care.

To make it easier to register with a dentist, patients will be able to call NHS Direct or check the NHS Choices website for information on local services.  In addition, the NHS will be responsible for providing a local helpline to help people find an NHS dentist and understand what they are entitled to. 

Health Secretary, Andy Burnham said,

'Prevention and quality are two of the most important principles of today’s NHS.  I thank Professor Jimmy Steele and his team for their recommendations on how we can improve the dental contract to promote high quality care and do more to improve oral health. The team have also done a great job in engaging the profession, and I want to continue this as we implement the recommendations from the review.

'Access to NHS dentistry is already improving and new NHS dental surgeries are opening up all over the country. From the autumn, many of these will be asked to pilot the changes that the review has recommended. I recognise that more needs to be done to bring NHS dentistry up to the standards that patient should expect, and we and the NHS are committed to ensuring that anyone can access high-quality dental services.”

Professor Jimmy Steele, Author of the Independent Review of NHS Dental Services said:

'This review is a vision of a better deal for both patients and dentists. It’s about making sure that patients can see an NHS dentist who will take long term responsibility for their care.

'We have recommended some significant changes to the system by which dentists are paid in order to support their work with patients to improve oral health, prevent oral disease and provide treatment of the highest quality.'

In line with the independent review, the Department of Health will now work with the NHS to develop national quality measures for NHS dentistry and discuss with the dentistry profession how to take forward the recommendation that dentists should provide a longer guarantee for some work, and pay for a replacement if the treatment fails prematurely.

In pilots starting this autumn, the Department of Health will work in collaboration with the dental profession to identify how the review’s recommendations work in practice.

• Dentistry review