Wide variation in the use of NHS dentists highlighted in new report

People in Great Yarmouth and Waveney are three times as likely to see an NHS dentist as their counterparts in Kensington and Chelsea, says a report out today from The NHS Information Centre.

NHS Dental Statistics for England 2009/10 brings together quarterly information on dental activity in England for the year 2009/10. It also includes latest figures on the number of patients seen by an NHS dentist for the first quarter of 2010/11.

The report shows that NHS dentists saw a higher number of patients in each of the 24 month periods ending in December 2009, March 2010 and June 2010 than they did in the 24 month period ending in March 2006, when the revised contracts for NHS dentists were introduced.

In the two year period ending June 2010, a total of 28.5 million patients were seen by an NHS dentist. This is an increase of 376,000 on the two year period up to the introduction of the new contracts. The percentage of people seen by an NHS dentist in the two years to June 2010 was 55.4 per cent.

However, although this percentage has risen each quarter since June 2008, it remains slightly below the March 2006 level of 55.8 per cent. The report also highlights wide variation across Primary Care Trusts (PCTs) in the percentage of patients seeing an NHS dentist.

Whereas 76.9 per cent of people in the Great Yarmouth and Waveney PCT area had seen an NHS dentist in the two year period ending June 2010, fewer than 24 per cent of people had in Kensington and Chelsea PCT area.

The areas with the lowest percentage of people who saw an NHS dentist were:

  • Kensington and Chelsea (23.8 per cent)
  • Richmond and Twickenham (33.9 per cent)
  • Buckinghamshire (41.2 per cent)
  • West Kent (41.8 per cent) and
  • City and Hackney (41.9 per cent)

The areas with the highest percentage of people who saw an NHS dentist were:

  • Great Yarmouth and Waveney (76.9 per cent)
  • Doncaster (73.2 per cent)
  • Middlesbrough (72.4 per cent)
  • Hull (71.8 per cent) and
  • Western Cheshire (71.3 per cent).

The report also shows:

  • More complex, band 3 treatments carried out by dentists increased by 12.2 per cent in 2009/10. This compared with a 2.7 per cent increase in simpler band 1 treatments.
  • The percentage of female dentists continues to rise each year since 2006/07, from 38.8 per cent in 2006/07 to 42.2 per cent in 2009/10. 54.1 per cent of dentists aged under-35 are female.

NHS Information Centre chief executive Tim Straughan said: “The report provides a detailed picture of the way NHS dental services are being delivered on the ground and how they are changing over time.

“It highlights a wide regional variation in the use of community NHS dental services and a continued increase in the overall number of people seeing an NHS dentist."

The report is at www.ic.nhs.uk/pubs/dentalstats0910

ENDS

Notes to editors

  1. The NHS Information Centre for health and social care (The NHS IC) is England's authoritative, central, independent source of health and social care information. It works with a wide range of health and social care providers nationwide to provide the facts and figures that help the NHS and social services run effectively. Its role is to collect data, analyse it and convert it into useful information which helps providers improve their services and supports academics, researcher, regulators and policymakers in their work. The NHS IC also produces a wide range of statistical publications each year across a number of areas including: primary care, health and lifestyles, screening, hospital care, population and geography, social care and workforce and pay statistics.
  2. Following feedback from customers regarding the timeliness of patients seen data, data for the latest 24 month period ending 30 June 2010 are also included as patient seen data are available earlier than the activity data.
  3. Dental activity is measured in terms of Courses of Treatment (CoTs) and Units of Dental Activity (UDAs. UDAs is the technical term used in the NHS dental contract system regulations to describe weighted CoTs. Weightings used to convert the CoT data to UDAs by band are set out below. Band 3 receives the highest weighting as it is within this band that the most complex treatments are performed.
  4. Where patients seen figures are quoted, these refer to the number of unique patients who started a course of treatment at any time during the 24 months prior to the quarter end date.
  5. A Course of Treatment (COT) may include more than one clinical treatment (for example, a patient may have a scale and polish as well as a filling within one CoT). A CoT falls into one of three main bands (based on the complexity of the most complex aspect of the treatment). Band 1 covers a check up and simple treatment (such as examination, diagnosis (e.g. x-rays), advice on preventative measures, and a scale and polish), Band 2 includes mid range treatments (such as fillings, extractions, and root canal work) in addition to Band 1 work, and Band 3 includes complex treatments (such as crowns, dentures, and bridges) in addition to Band 1 and Band 2 work. There is also a separate Urgent Band which includes a specified set of possible treatments provided to a patient in certain circumstances.
  6. Percentage of patients seen figures for PCTs are calculated using the number of patients seen by NHS dentists in a PCT and the estimated residential population of the PCT. Patients may not necessarily receive treatment in the PCT in which they are resident.
  7. Dental services provided privately are not covered in the report.
  8. For media enquires please call 0845 257 6990 or contact: