More Details of 2026 Contract Changes Emerge
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- Published: Thursday, 15 January 2026 18:40
- Written by Peter Ingle
- Hits: 2186
More details have been released by NHS England about the forthcoming NHS dental contract changes for April 1st 2026.
In a round robin email from Chief Dental Officer Jason Wong and NHS England Director for Dentistry, Community Pharmacy and Optometry, Ali Sparke, the changes are described as being, “the foundation for any future, more fundamental reforms to the dental system.”
The changes are described thus: “They mean improved payment and claiming options to support patients with urgent care or those in higher needs groups, measures to financially support and embed quality improvement, and proposals to enable all members of the dental team to better contribute to NHS treatment.”
Eleven topics are then covered:
1. Increased payments for urgent/unscheduled care
This includes the increased payment for urgent care cases, with the upfront ‘deposit’ element now £15. These payments will apply to new or returning attendees, and walk-ins as well as NHS 111 referrals. Individual ICBs may continue to offer their own urgent care sessions in addition to this pathway.
2. Requirement to do a minimum level of urgent/unscheduled care activity
All practices will be required to see a certain number of these cases. However the “requirement per practice has not yet been communicated (NHSE italics) and will be confirmed as soon as possible.”
3. The ability to treat patients under three new complex care pathways, remunerated at higher levels to support practices to prioritise higher needs groups
It is pointed out that the payment for each pathway has been revised upwards to reflect latest prices since the consultation in summer 2025. As an example pathway 2 will offer £709 to treat at least 5 teeth with caries into dentine and unstable periodontal disease.
Once a practice confirms that a patient has been accepted onto a pathway, activity will be credited throughout the duration of the pathway, to help practices assess their progress towards their targets.
“For avoidance of doubt, these new pathways do not replace existing banded courses of treatment. Decisions about whether to use an existing course of treatment or a new complex care pathway, where applicable, will be taken based on the dentist’s professional judgement. Separate guidance on complex care pathways is in development and will be published in due course.”
Alongside these denture repairs will be remunerated at 2 UDAs, rather than the current 1 UDA.
5. A new course of treatment will be introduced at 0.5 UDAs, allowing suitably skilled and educated Dental Nurses to apply fluoride varnish without the patient needing a full dental examination.
6. Fissure sealants for primary prevention will be able to be claimed as Band 2 rather than Band 1.
7. Opportunity to access a new Quality Improvement (QI) domain in the contract
Details have yet to be finalised, however this will not be mandatory and the topic will be set nationally.
The initial topic is likely to focus on applying NICE guidance on recall intervals, with the goal of, “reducing unnecessary check-ups”.
8. Recall intervals will still be set by individual dentists
However: “We are asking practices, regardless of whether they take part in the funded QI scheme, to apply the NICE guidance rigorously, to ensure that NHS capacity is used appropriately and access is maximised.”
9. Annual appraisals will be funded for associate dentists, dental therapists and dental hygienists providing clinical services to NHS patients
This will be claimed by the clinician receiving the appraisal. As with the new QI domain, this appraisal activity will count towards the practice’s contractual UDA requirement.
10. Increased use of “tariff” payments
The contract will continue to be based on UDAs, but introduces new “tariffs” or fixed cash values for certain treatment or interventions. They will be consistent across England. Given the variation in UDA values, for the purposes of contract reconciliation, the cash value will be translated back into UDAs at each practice’s own rate.
11. Other smaller changes will be brought in as part of the package but will not be delivered on the same timeline
Examples given include, introducing a handbook for NHS practices, increasing eligibility for discretionary support payments, and more support for associates through establishing minimum terms and conditions. “Further information will be provided in due course.”
This communication will be followed by updates, “at regular intervals in advance of implementation.”
New clinical guidance will also be given to support the complex care pathways, and set out the details of the new Quality Improvement domain.
NHSE are expecting this information to be published by spring 2026.
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