Up to 50 practices will be selected to join the 73 currently testing the new contract which incentivises dentists to offer comprehensive oral health assessments and self-care plans. The scheme could be rolled out nationally from April 2020 if approach can be shown to benefit patients, the NHS and dental practices.
Children and adults have been empowered to take better care of their teeth after a number of dental surgeries across England adopted a new prevention-focused approach to oral hygiene.
More than 70 high street dental practices saw a reduction in tooth decay after testing the new approach which incentivises dentists to offer patients comprehensive oral health assessments and self-care plans on top of traditional treatments.
In the first year of piloting the new system, dentists reported that 90 per cent of patients had reduced or maintained levels of tooth decay, 80 per cent had reduced or maintained levels of gum disease and 97 per cent of patients said they were satisfied with the dental care they received.
Up to 50 practices will be recruited into the expanded programme to further assess the benefits to patients, the NHS and dental practices before a decision to roll-out the contract nationally will be made.
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 focusses on prevention and quality of care and will be thoroughly tested to ensure it is financially sustainable for the NHS, patients and dentists.”
The new practices are currently being selected and will go live from October 2018 and January 2019.
Chief dental officer for England, Sarah Hurley, said, “The announcement of up to 50 more prototype practices is an important step in developing the NHS dental service in this, its 70th year.
“I welcome it and hope that further refinement and testing with the profession will lead us to a model that enables dentists and their teams to play their full part in the delivery of integrated care and further improvement of oral and general health.”