We have made it clear these plans are not enough. Government must press ahead on fundamental reform of NHS dentistry.
The current target-based system funds care for little over half the population and sets perverse incentives to dentists, rewarding them the same for doing one filling as ten. The unsuitability of this model during the pandemic has accelerated the drift of dentists away from the NHS into a full-on exodus. Thousands of dentists have left the NHS in England since lockdown, with almost half reporting having significantly reduced their NHS commitment.
The plans include:
- A minimum UDA value. The payment dentists receive for hitting a target – the Unit of Dental Activity – will now be set at a minimum of £23.00. The BDA have noted that only around 3% of practices will benefit, stressing that any increase will not reverse a decade of savage cuts in the service, which can leave practices providing NHS care at a financial loss, particularly to high needs patients.
- A higher reward for treating 3 or more teeth. Dentists will now receive 5 UDAs for treating 3 or more teeth, an increase on the current level of 3 UDAs which applied to care delivered to any number of teeth. The BDA stress that given patients are now presenting requiring as many as 20 fillings, perversity will remain baked into the system, with less complex work still rewarded at the same rate as treatments that take hours.
- A new payment rate for complex treatment. Root canal treatment on molar teeth will now be rewarded with 7 UDAs, as opposed 3, as a result of BDA lobbying. However, the BDA stress the move is unlikely to be a game changer, given the nature of the challenging and time-consuming treatments – which can take up to 3 hours on a single tooth.
- A greater role for dental therapists. There is no hard evidence of a workforce waiting in the wings for the chance to work under the failed NHS contract.
Some of this will require secondary legislation so cannot take force until after summer recess.
The BDA is taking a neutral position on the new package of changes, neither endorsing nor rejecting what it characterises as modest and marginal fixes to the widely discredited NHS dental contract.
We have stressed that we remain focused on wholesale change to the broken system, where formal negotiations with NHS England have yet to begin. We're concerned that the Government has offered no guarantees that pledges of fundamental reform will be honoured, stressing this package cannot form a final destination for the service.
These changes – which come with no new investment – show the limits of what can be achieved for patients without greater commitment from the Treasury. We estimate it would take an extra £880m simply to restore funding to levels seen in 2010. Over 44 million NHS dental appointments have been lost since lockdown in England alone – more than a year's worth of care in pre-COVID times.
Shawn Charlwood, Chair of the British Dental Association's General Dental Practice Committee said:
"These are modest, marginal changes that will not fix the rotten foundations this service is built on.
"Our patients need Ministers to do more than paper over the cracks. These tweaks will do precious little to keep dentists in the NHS or ensure millions get the care they urgently need.
"The simple fact is not a penny of new investment has been pledged, and government targets will still come before patient care.
"Today is little more than a small step on the road to real reform. If government considers this a final destination then it will mean the death of NHS dentistry in England."