Written statement on Government response to the public consultation on the NHS dentistry contract: quality and payment reforms - Dec 16

Minister of State for Care (Stephen Kinnock): I wish to update the House following the government's recent public consultation on quality and payment reforms to the NHS dentistry contract.

Restoring NHS dentistry is one of the government's top priorities.

The government remains committed to fundamental reform of the dental contract by the end of this Parliament, with a focus on matching resources to need, improving access, promoting prevention and rewarding dentists fairly, while enabling the whole dental team to work to the top of their capability. This is our ambition, and it will take time to get right.

We held a public consultation over July and August, on a package of proposals to address some of the pressing issues that dentists and dental teams are experiencing. Ensuring payment reflects the support patients require, creating a culture that rewards and improves quality of care, and further embedding the principles of skill mix within NHS delivery are all critical steps to improve access to NHS dental services for those who need it most.

We received over 2,250 responses to the consultation, including from members of the dental sector as well as members of the public. I want to thank those who shared their thoughts and experiences, which have helped us to refine our proposals.

Overall, the response to the consultation was positive and therefore the government intends to proceed with implementing all the proposed changes, with some adjustments to specific proposals in response to consultation feedback. For example, we have revised and improved the payment structure for the unscheduled and urgent care proposal, to work better for dentists and patients.

The final set of changes are designed to help deliver our mission to build an NHS fit for the future, and are intended to:

1. secure the manifesto commitment to provide additional urgent dental care appointments by embedding urgent care into the dental contract, supported by increased payments for dentists delivering this care, making it easier for patients to get rapid support for urgent dental needs through the NHS;
2. introduce new clinical and payment structures specifically designed to provide better care for patients with gum disease or significant decay who require more intensive treatment;
3. support increased use of cost-effective evidence-based prevention interventions for children, reducing the opportunities for tooth decay;
4. introduce a new payment for denture modifications, relining and repairs, better supporting providers to manage the costs associated with delivering these treatments,
5. support a reduction in clinically unnecessary check-ups, helping dentists to focus care on patients with the greatest need and avoiding patients from being overtreated, and therefore overcharged for care,
6. improve care quality by introducing quality improvement activities and funded appraisals, allowing teams to focus on the quality of care they deliver and to evaluate performance; and,
7. provide support to the profession by extending discretionary support payments and developing a model contract and NHS handbook for dental teams, helping them to feel part of the wider NHS.

The proposed changes are intended to deliver benefits for both patients and the profession and represent a move away from some of the features of the current unit of dental activity payment model, which dental teams have told us is a barrier to delivering NHS care.

The government will introduce the proposals from April 2026 onwards and the specific timing for the delivery of each proposal will be communicated to the sector in due course.

These changes build on the government's wider dental rescue plan, including providing additional urgent dental care appointments, £11m in 25/26 for the national supervised toothbrushing programme for 3 to 5-year-olds including over 4 million free toothbrushing products in the most deprived areas to protect children's teeth, thanks to a groundbreaking partnership between the government and Colgate-Palmolive. In addition, community water fluoridation will be expanded across the North-East of England, to reduce tooth decay and inequalities in dental health.