The government has launched a survey for dental practices in England to inform plans to reform the NHS dental contract.
Dentists across England are being encouraged to share their experiences of the cost of delivering NHS dentistry. The findings will be used by the government to shape its approach to contract reform by providing a more accurate picture of the factors that are driving up dental costs.
The survey is now live and can be completed until 16 June 2025. Practice owners who complete the survey can also register their interest in contributing to follow-up research that will provide more detailed insight.
Care minister Stephen Kinnock said: ‘We are working to fix an NHS dentistry sector left broken by years of neglect. We have already rolled out an extra 700,000 urgent dentistry appointments and introduced a supervised toothbrushing programme to prevent tooth decay in young children in the most deprived communities.
‘More work is needed, but to find the right solution we must make sure we are clear about the problem. Through this survey, we will gain a better understanding of the pressures faced by the sector so we can fix them and deliver better care for patients through our plan for change.’
‘Austerity left practices delivering care at a loss’
Shiv Pabary, chair of the British Dental Association’s (BDA) General Dental Practice Committee, said: ‘This is an important move from the government. Saving NHS dentistry will be impossible without a clear sense of what it costs to keep this service afloat.
‘Austerity left practices delivering care at a loss. No business can operate like this. Dentists can spell out the facts, but the treasury will need to act on them.’
The BDA has previously estimated that practices lose more than £40 delivering a set of NHS dentures on average, and more £7 on a new patient exam. It said that ‘the treasury has become reliant on practices delivering care at a loss’.
The association welcomed the launch of the cost-of-service survey and encouraged practices to take part.
‘No future’ without contract reform
In April, the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) released a report that suggests there is ‘no future for NHS dentistry without reform’.
One issue raised within the report was the huge difference between earnings for NHS and private dentistry. It said: ‘Without proper remuneration it is likely that even more will move exclusively to the private sector.’
To address the problem, the PAC said that the government needed to ‘rip the contract up and start again’. In particular, it highlighted ‘fundamental issues around the affordability of NHS work’.
The BDA said the newly launched survey will help the government ‘gain a well-informed, comprehensive and nuanced understanding’ of the cost of running an NHS practice. The association hopes this will enable the government to identify ways to support the dental sector in England and put them into practice.
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