Number of people seeing an NHS dentist highest since March 2006

The number of people who have seen an NHS dentist has, for the first time, exceeded the number seen directly before revised contracts were introduced in April 2006, says a report out today by The NHS Information Centre.

However, while the report NHS Dental Statistics for England: Quarter 2, 30 September 2009 shows that the total number of people seen by an NHS dentist has risen, the percentage of the population who saw an NHS dentist, at 54.7 per cent, remains lower than the March 2006 baseline when it was 55.8 per cent.

In the two years to 31 December 2009, 28.2 million patients saw an NHS dentist – up 18,000 (0.1 per cent) on the number who saw an NHS dentist in the two years to 31 March 2006 - the period directly before the introduction of new contracting arrangements for dentists in April 2006. Compared to the previous quarter, the 24 months up to 30 September 2009, this is a rise of 289,000 (1.0 per cent)

The report also shows adult patients seen has risen by 129,000 (0.6 per cent) to 20.5 million in the two years up to 31 December 2009, compared to the number seen in the two years to 31 March 2006.

Although the number of children who have seen an NHS dentist has risen continuously over the past six quarters, standing at 7.7 million in the two years ending 31 December 2009, this remains 111,000 (1.4 per cent) below the March 2006 baseline.

According to the report, the percentage of the more complex Band 3 treatments carried by dentists is estimated to have increased while the percentage of the more straightforward Band 1 treatments shows an estimated decline since the second quarter of 2008/9. The report showed:

  • The percentage of Courses of Treatment (CoTs) which come under Band 1 is estimated to have gradually reduced since the equivalent quarter in the 2007/08 reporting year, while percentage of Band 3 CoTs and Urgent CoTs have are estimated to have both gradually increased from the corresponding quarters in the previous two years.
  • There are regional variations in the type of treatment delivered. For example, provisional figures show those dentists in South Central Strategic Health Authority (SHA) carried out the highest percentage of Band 1 CoTs (57.9 per cent of total CoTs in the SHA) and the lowest percentage of Band 3 CoTs (3.7 per cent of total CoTs in the SHA). Dentists in London SHA carried out provisionally the highest percentage of Band 3 CoTs (8.8 per cent of their total CoTs) and provisionally the lowest percentage of Band 1 CoTs (43.5 per cent of their total CoTs).

The NHS Information Centre's chief executive Tim Straughan said: “These quarterly statistics play a valuable role in helping the NHS track the changes taking place in dental care.

“For the first time, they show that the number of people who have seen an NHS dentist is now higher under the new contract than it was prior to its introduction. However, it is important to note that as a percentage of the population, figures remain below the level seen under the previous contract arrangements. While the number of children accessing dental care has risen, numbers are still lower than those being seen before the new contract was introduced.”

The report is at www.ic.nhs.uk/pubs/dentalstats0910q2

ENDS

Notes to editors

  1. The NHS Information Centre is England's authoritative, independent source of health and social care information. It works with more than 300 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, researchers, regulators and policymakers in their work. The NHS Information Centre 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
  2. This report presents NHS dental activity in England in the third quarter of 2009/10 (up to and including 31 December 2009) as well as the number of patients seen by an NHS dentist in the 24 months ending 31 December 2009. The report does not cover private work carried out by NHS Dentists and excludes orthodontic activity, although orthodontic patients are included in the patients seen measure. The source of the data is NHS Dental Services of the NHS Business Services Authority. The NHS Information Centre for health and social care has responsibility for analysing and publishing these data.
  3. Quarterly activity figures for 2009/10 at national level are ‘estimated final', based on provisional data. All sub-national figures for 2009/10 are provisional and will subsequently be revised upwards[1] to account for Courses of Treatment (CoTs) reported too late for inclusion in this report. Estimated national figures will also be revised accordingly. At this stage, any sub-national comparisons between 2009/10 and 2008/09 and 2007/08 compare provisional figures with final figures. Final figures for 2009/10 will be published in the end of year report, expected to be published in August 2010.
  4. A Unit of Dental Activity (UDA) 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.
  5. 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.
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