This annual report includes information on all patients that received NHS dental care in England for the 12 month period to March 31, 2015. Subjects covered include:
- dental activity
- clinical treatments
- dental workforce
Information on the number of patients seen by an NHS dentist for the 24 month period to June 30, 2015, is also included. This information is used by the Department of Health to inform government policy on NHS dentistry and by local NHS managers in the planning and delivery of local dental services. This report is based on data collected on each course of NHS dental treatment by NHS Dental Services, part of the NHS Business Services Authority (NHS BSA).
To read the full report visit www.hscic.gov.uk/catalogue/PUB18129
Key Facts
Patients Seen
A total of 30.0 million patients were seen in the 24 month period to June 30, 2015; a 6.7 per cent increase on the March 2006 baseline but a 0.2 per cent decrease on the previous quarter. The latest figures show that 55.7 per cent of the total population were seen by an NHS dentist in this period, a rise of just 0.1 percentage points on the March 2006 baseline. The number of children seen has increased 2.5 per cent since March 2006, with 8m children seen by an NHS dentist in the 24 month period to June 30, 2015. However, despite an actual rise in the number of children seen, as a percentage of the population, the number of children seen has fallen 0.7 percentage points.
Activity
39.6m courses of treatment (CoT) were delivered in 2014/15; 149,692 (0.4 per cent) fewer than were delivered in 2013/14. With the exception of Band 1, which rose 1.6 per cent, all treatment bands decreased with Band 2 treatments falling most noticeably by 354,573 (3.0 per cent). Despite non-paying adults occupying a small proportion of all CoT, these patients are responsible for more than half of all Band 3 treatments (51.6 per cent). The greater provision of more complex treatments to non-paying adults, compared to other patient types, may reflect a lower standard of dental health among these patients. This supports findings from the Adult Dental Health Survey 20091 which indicates that patients from routine and manual occupations were more likely to receive free NHS dental care, and also that this group patients were more likely to have a lower standard of oral health than other socio-economic groups.
Clinical Treatments
The most frequent clinical treatment delivered to adults is scale and polish, this treatment accounts for 45.2 per cent of all treatment with 12.9m CoT delivered. For children the most frequent clinical treatment delivered is fluoride varnish treatments, CoT including this rose 24.6 per cent to 3.4m. This growth is consistent with guideline from the ‘Department of Health Delivering Better Oral Health2’ toolkit which advocated the routine use of fluoride to improve dental health, particularly the provision of twice-yearly fluoride treatments as a preventative measure for children.
Workforce
23,947 dentists performed NHS activity during 2014/15. This is an increase of 224 (0.9 per cent) on 2013/14, and 3,787 (18.8 per cent) more than 2006/07. The increase in the proportion of female dentists continues. In 2014/15 this has risen to 47.1 per cent of the dental workforce, from 38.8 per cent in 2006/07. The number of female dentists stood at 11,285, a 3.1 per cent increase on the previous year and a 44.2 per cent increase on 2006/07.
Notes
This report covers work carried out by ‘high street dentists’, who account for the majority of dental activity and work undertaken by dentists under vocational training. The publication does not cover dental services provided privately.
Comment
Commenting on the publication of the first set of data from the NHS Family and Friends Test, the chair of the British Dental Association’s General Dental Practice Committee, Henrik Overgaard-Nielsen,said:
“These figures on patient feedback confirm what we know already from so many other sources - that patients rate their NHS dental care highly.
“Dentists should feel proud that 97 per cent of those responding would recommend their NHS dentist, a figure higher than for any other sector of the health service.”