Responses to 10 Year Plan for NHS Dentistry
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- Published: Thursday, 10 July 2025 09:43
- Written by Peter Ingle
- Hits: 926
It has not taken long for organisations with an interest in UK dentistry, to venture their opinions on the NHS 10 year plan in respect of the promised transformation of NHS dental services.
The BDA response was diplomatic. They backed the pledges in the plan to begin work on fundamental reform, but stressed the urgency of this, and observed that no deadline had been set.
BDA Chair Eddie Crouch said: “NHS dentistry couldn’t be better placed to deliver the shift from sickness to prevention, from hospital to community.” However referring to the lack of progress on a contract he added: “Ministers have made the right diagnosis here, but we can’t wait a decade for them to write the prescription.”
The BDA also expressed concerns over plans to tie-in young dentists to the NHS for a 3-year minimum term, adding that real progress hinges on promised reform to halt the exodus of experienced older colleagues. Eddie Crouch added: “This policy won’t stop a single experienced dentist walking away from the NHS in despair. The focus must be ensuring the next generation sees this service as a place they’d choose to build a career.”
Independent health and social care think tank, The Nuffield Trust also questioned the new graduate tie in: “But a three-year work requirement for new dentists isn’t a full or simple solution. NHS rates are simply not competitive with the private sector in many areas. While this remains the case, it’s all very well to force dentists to do three years’ work for the health service, but they will still tend to simply drift away afterwards.” What was needed was proper reform of the dental contract which as the Trust reminded readers, successive governments have seen as unfit for purpose for more than 15 years.
When it came to the dash to skill mix, the Trust advised caution: “Making more use of other staff like dental therapists is an excellent idea. But the recent NHS history with roles such as physician associates, which caused confusion and backlash, shows that this needs to be handled very carefully. There must be plenty of time for roll-out, a proper understanding from the start of the role and its limits, and regular monitoring.”
Nor in the trust’s opinion was the move to a digital service without a potential downside: “Accessing clinicians digitally also carries the risk something will be missed that could have been spotted face to face: getting this right is difficult but crucial. The health service’s history shows that new technology often costs money, rather than saving it. This doesn’t mean it is the wrong thing to do, but balancing sums based on the assumption of big savings would be asking for trouble.”
Dental indemnifiers also offered their initial opinions.
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For the Medical and Dental Defence Union of Scotland, Head of Dental Division, Rachael Bell expressed their concerns: "The Government has already promised 700,000 extra appointments and left it to Integrated Care Boards (ICBs) to deliver without thinking through the challenge of who is to deliver the care. |
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Dental practice owners already saddled with an unworkable contract can’t change the laws of physics to create more time for these patients and recruitment is beyond challenging. There was also a call for swift reform of the Dentists Act and the General Dental Council (GDC) if the Government was serious about of recruiting and retaining all members of the dental profession. Without it, the culture of fear and defensive practice amongst professionals would continue to result in burn out and an exit to alternative careers amongst young graduates. There was a reminder that in a climate where high sugar ultra-processed food remains cheaper and easier than food promoting good general and dental health, the nation’s oral health would not improve. Dental Protection welcomed the government commitment to contract reform and called for a clear timetable for implementation. Raj Rattan, Dental Director at Dental Protection said: “Dental Protection has long called for systemic reforms that could improve the delivery of care for patients and safeguard the wellbeing of the dental workforce. These include GDS contract reform, expansion, and better use of the dental workforce, and improving access to care, alongside the introduction of measures that support teams to deliver optimised care and ensure appropriate remuneration.” He too, stressed the need for action: “Reform has however been long talked about without being delivered, so we will urge the Government to set a clear timetable for implementation. A realistic new model for the provision of NHS dental care is urgently required.” Raj Rattan regretted that an opportunity has been missed in terms of laying out a timeframe for reforming the GDC, adding, “The legislation that sets out the regulator’s powers is now long out of date and a clear commitment from the Government is needed.” The British Society of Paediatric Dentistry (BSPD) approvingly noted that “this is the first time we have had a vision from the Government that lays out so many interventions to impact children’s oral health for the better, as well as improving their overall wellbeing.” The society also approved of the plan to utilise the wider dental workforce, along with the shift towards prevention, as well as the use of ’virtual’ support to community dental teams and the expansion of community water fluoridation. The BSPD was further encouraged by the plan’s ’moonshot to end the obesity epidemic’ as well as reformulations of soft drinks, and restrictions on availability and advertising of tobacco and vapes. Trade association, The Association of Dental Groups (ADG), which represents NHS, Private and Community-Based services, welcomed the NHS 10 Year Health Plan announcement, noting that the broad direction was positive. However, much of the detail regarding how the new plan will impact dentistry specifically is still to be revealed, and the ADG looks forward to learning more in due course. Neil Carmichael, Executive Chair, of the ADG, said that the members would be keen to know where dentistry will fit into the new Neighbourhood Health Services. Key to implementation of the plan would be a keen focus on shoring up the massive gap in the dental workforce. He will have spoken for many with his observation that the impact of the 10 year plan for dentistry will be in the detail.
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