Government announces new rules to make it easier to book a dentist in the UK
Patients will find it easier to get an urgent care appointment under planned reforms to incentivise dentists to deliver more NHS work and fix the foundations of dentistry, the Department of Health and Social Care has announced.
Satisfaction with NHS dentistry has fallen to a record low, with the British Dental Association outlining that over one in four adults are now struggling to access NHS dental care.
The government is proposing a swathe of changes to tackle this, as it opens up a major consultation on NHS dentistry contract on Tuesday (8 July) to increase the amount of care, the department said.
It is currently less cost effective for dentists to take on patients who need more complex and extensive treatments such as crowns, bridges and dentures. The government is proposing to overhaul failing approaches like these and incentivise dentists more.
A new, special course of treatment for patients with severe gum disease or with at least five teeth with tooth decay, more money for denture modifications, and a requirement for dentists to deliver a set amount of urgent and unscheduled care each year, are also part of the government’s plans for dental contract reform.
The government will also bring in robust preventative measures for children’s teeth, including better use of tooth resin sealants for children with a history of dental decay and applying fluoride varnish on children’s without a full dental check-up.
This follows the latest stats showing that 22.4% of 5-year-old schoolchildren in England had experience of obvious dental decay, with tooth decay the most common reason for hospital admissions in children aged between five and nine years.
Measures to make dental staff feel rewarded, incentivised, and a bigger part of the NHS are also part of the government’s proposed package.
Just last week, the government’s 10-Year Health Plan set out measures to improve dental access for all, including a requirement for newly qualified dentists to practice in the NHS for a minimum period, intended to be three years.
This consultation builds on action already taken to roll out 700,000 additional appointments, address the immediate needs of patients in pain, the introduction of a national supervised toothbrushing programme for 3-5-year-olds, and the recruitment of more NHS dentists through a nationwide ‘Golden Hello’ scheme.
“We inherited a broken NHS dental system that is in crisis. We have already started fixing this, rolling out 700,000 urgent and emergency appointments and bringing in supervising toothbrushing for 3-5 year olds in the most deprived areas of the country,” said Health Minister Stephen Kinnock.
“But to get us to a place where patients feel NHS dentistry is reliable again, we have to tackle the problems in the system at their root.”
Kinnock said the reforms will bring common sense into the system again, attracting more NHS dentists, treating those with the greatest need first, and changing the system to make it work.
“This is essential to our Plan for Change – building an NHS fit for the future and making sure poor oral health doesn’t hold people back from getting into work and staying healthy,” he said.
