More NHS Dentists to be Funded to Carryout Prevention-Focused Care

More NHS dental practices will be joining a scheme for prevention-focused dental care following successful results where it has been tested.

Up to 50 practices in England will be selected to join the 73 currently testing a new approach to dental care.

The new system incentivises dentists to offer full oral health assessments and self-care plans on top of traditional treatments.

In the first year of piloting the new approach, dentists reported that:

• 90% of patients had reduced or maintained levels of tooth decay
• 80% of patients had reduced or maintained levels of gum disease
• 97% of patients said they were satisfied with the dental care they received

The recently published evaluation report from the first year of testing recommended that a further group of dental practices should be recruited into the programme.

The new practices are currently being selected and will join from October 2018 and January 2019.

The existing 73 practices are continuing to test the new approach, with a new remuneration system added which supports dentists carrying out preventative work.

The scheme could be rolled out nationally from April 2020 if it can be shown to benefit patients, the NHS and dental practice following a thorough evaluation.

Health Minister Steve Brine said:  "The government has made great progress in improving the oral health of patients and tooth decay among children continues to decrease ‒ but there is more we can do.

Our new proposed NHS dental contract focuses on prevention and quality of care and will be thoroughly tested to ensure it is financially sustainable for the NHS, patients and dentists."