Dentists to prioritise urgent care and save some patients more than £200 under plans

People requiring urgent dental treatment and patients requiring complex care will be prioritized as part of the Government's plans to improve access to NHS dentists in England.

These offers could mean savings of £225 for patients requiring multiple appointments for complex treatments.

For years, many patients have found it increasingly difficult to find a dentist, with some towns and cities in England being described as “dental deserts” with no access to NHS dentists at all.

The British Dental Association (BDA) said that without increased funding and real reforms, the plans would not solve current problems.

Speaking on Radio 4's Today programme, Health Secretary Stephen Kinnock said the plans were aimed at “prioritising” emergency care.

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

If a patient has “good oral health,” he says, he doesn't need to visit the dentist “more than once every two years.”

He said the current practice, in which most patients are asked to have NHS checks every six months, is a “misuse” of dentists' time and added that it “takes a lot of money away from NHS dentistry”.

Under the current system, adopted in 2006, dentists are paid by so-called units of dental activity, known as UDAs.

Different procedures – fillings, extractions and more complex work – are prescribed different amounts of UDA.

Dentists providing NHS services are given a contract which sets out how many UDAs they will carry out each year and are paid accordingly.

But it meant more money was available for dentists to perform simple exams, rather than spending more time on patients who required more complex and time-consuming care.

For years, dentists have complained that their NHS contract does not cover the costs of what they are being asked to do.

As a result, many dentists are leaving NHS jobs, meaning people are finding it increasingly difficult to access care. There are parts of the country where there is simply no access to NHS dentistry.

Dentists will have new incentives to offer long-term treatment for serious problems such as gum disease and tooth decay through the NHS, according to government plans.

Currently, a patient with multiple tooth decay or severe gum disease (both of which require complex treatment) would need to undergo treatment in multiple appointments, which is expensive and time-consuming.

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

Ministers say it could save patients up to £225 in service costs.

Shiv Pabari, chairman of the BDA's general dental practice committee, said the “dental crisis” was a direct result of the 2006 contract.

“The reforms announced today are aimed at fixing a broken system.”

He added that until “chronic underfunding” and wider systemic problems are addressed, NHS dentistry will continue to be unable to work for “dentists and patients”.

“Trying to provide comprehensive health care within the same budget that we currently have is going to be extremely challenging.”

Mr Kinnock said the government needed to address a “serious problem” in dental care and was in talks with the BDA about a “radical overhaul” of the NHS dental care contract.