Commons Sense

House of Commons · Written Ministerial Statement

Dental System Improvement

19 July 2022 · Department of Health and Social Care

Proposed by James Morris Con Halesowen and Rowley Regis

NHS

Summarised by AI from the official record, so it can contain mistakes.

View on Parliament.uk

At a glance

Key points

  • The government is implementing changes to improve patient access to NHS dental services.
  • Adjustments to remuneration for certain dental treatments are being made to incentivize complex procedures.
  • The NHS website will be updated to provide better information on dental services.

Issue summary

The statement addresses improvements to the NHS dental system following the pandemic.

Action requested

The government is implementing changes to improve patient access, incentivize complex treatments, utilize dental professionals more effectively, and enhance communication with patients. These include adjusting remuneration for certain treatments, encouraging adherence to recall intervals, facilitating the use of dental team members within their scope of practice, and updating the NHS website for better service information.

Key facts

  • The NHS dental system was operating below 100% capacity for over two years.
  • From July 2022, practices are expected to return to pre-pandemic treatment levels.
  • Changes include improving remuneration for complex preventative and restorative treatments.
  • Practices will be supported to adhere more closely to NICE guidance on recall intervals.
  • The British Dental Association was consulted during the reform process.
  • In 2019/20, 13% of contractors failed to deliver their contracted activity, representing 4.6 million Units of Dental Activity per annum.
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