Three Year Tie In - Streeting's Plan for a Decade
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- Published: Friday, 04 July 2025 10:35
- Written by Peter Ingle
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July 3rd 2025 saw the launch of the Government‘s 10 year NHS plan, “fit for the future”
The summary explains that this follows the Lord Darzi‘s investigation. The very first bullet point summarising its findings is, ‘many cannot get an NHS GP or dental appointment.‘
Without change, the summary continues, “we will be condemned to a poor service for poor people.”
The solution is ‘transformational change’ and for dentistry in the UK this will be on an unprecedented scale as the section headed “Fixing the foundations in dentistry” sets out:
“By 2035, the NHS dental system will be transformed, so that it provides high quality care at the right time, and nobody goes without because they cannot afford it. It will be a service which is attractive to, and values dental care professionals. With a new dental contract at its heart, NHS dentistry will be more transparent for patients.”
The initial phase will be to stabilise NHS dentistry, focusing available funds on “those who need care most”. To start with, that will be urgent care.
It will become a requirement for newly qualified dentists to practice in the NHS for a minimum period, presently intended to “be at least 3 years.”
To improve access to dental care for children, more use of will be made of the wider dental workforce, especially dental therapists, including through a new approach to upskill professionals to work at the top of their clinical potential. This will begin in 2026 to 2027. It will link to the supervised tooth brushing programmes and expand the use of fluoride varnish and fissure sealants.
There will be expansion of community water fluoridation in the north east of England from 2028 so that it reaches 1.6 million more people by April 2030, with possible further rollout in those areas with poorest oral health. Older, existing water fluoridation schemes in the north east, west midlands and east of England, will be refurbished.
From financial year 2026 to 2027, payments will better reflect the cost of treating patients with higher needs. This will be assisted by a reduction in ‘low-value activity’ including check-up frequency.
This year, the process of more fundamental contract reform will begin. The government wants it to matches resources to need, improve access, promote prevention and reward dentists fairly. It will enable the whole dental team to work to the top of their capability.
The Neighbourhood Health Service will provide opportunities for dental care professionals, including dental therapists and dental nurses, to work as part neighbourhood teams. Dental therapists could undertake check-ups, treatment, and referrals, while dental nurses would lead individual and community oral health education efforts. The work therapists cannot do would be safely directed to dentists.
Professor Grant McIntyre, Dean of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh’s Faculty of Dental Surgery, said: "As the largest Dental faculty in the UK, we were heartened to see clear focus on improving access to dental care as part of the new Neighbourhood Health Service. We are keen to open dialogue with the government on how this can be best achieved. We are also excited by the commitment to invest in the technological infrastructure of the NHS and the rapid introduction of innovative advances, such as robotic surgery.
"Over the next few days, we will be analysing the plan and identifying areas where we can work collaboratively with the government and other stakeholders to ensure that any proposed change has patient safety, satisfaction and equity of access at the heart of the process. We know that many of our members and fellows will be crucial in delivering the plan at a local level and we stand ready to support them through this process.”
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