Summary

This report considers NHS provisional dental activity in England under the contractual arrangements which came into effect on 1 April 2006. The latest activity information relates to the third quarter of 2009/10, up to and including 31 December 2009. Latest Patients Seen data relates to 24 month period ending 31 March 2010.

Key facts

• In the third quarter of 2009/10, an estimated 9.6 million Courses of Treatment (CoTs) were delivered in England, a 3.3 per cent increase on the final figure for the third quarter of 2008/09.
• This equates to an estimated 21.5 million Units of Dental Activity (UDAs), a 5.4 per cent increase (1.1 million) on the final figures for the third quarter of 2008/09.
• 28.4 million patients saw an NHS dentist in the 24 month period ending 31 March 2010, a 0.8 per cent increase compared to the 24 month period ending 31 March 2006.
• This represents 55.1 per cent of the population, a 0.6 percentage point decrease on the proportion of the population seen in the 24 month period ending 31 March 2006.
• Patients seen numbers for the period ending 31 March 2010 represent a 0.7 per cent increase (200 thousand) on the period ending 30 December 2009, the seventh consecutive quarter of growth in this measure.