Government grasping the nettle on dentistry with consultation on contract reform

Responding to the Department of Health and Social Care announcing a consultation on reforming the NHS dentistry contract, Ruth Rankine, primary care director at the NHS Confederation, said:

“The NHS dentistry contract has long been in need of reform, so we welcome the government grasping the nettle at last. The contract combined with years of underfunding and workforce shortages has left millions of people without access to even the most basic dental services, with areas of high deprivation and people with complex needs disproportionately affected.

“The government's Ten-Year Health Plan has made some critical commitments to improving access to dentistry. This consultation is the first step towards ensuring that the dental contract incentivises prevention and improved oral health.

“Dentistry has a pivotal role to play as part of the government’s ambitions – particularly building multidisciplinary neighbourhood health services and providing more preventative treatments. But it is not just about recruiting more dentists. We need to recognise the role the entire dental workforce can play – including other dental care professionals such as dental therapists and dental nurses – allowing dentists to focus on the most complex of patients.

“We also need to work with commissioners to ensure the contract allows flexibility to respond to local need, as different parts of the country have different challenges.”