Senior College members took part in a recent meeting of dental leaders from across the UK to share learning on how best to support the careers and professional development of the future dental team.
College panellists, speakers and presenters at the Dental Leadership Network: (l-r) Roshni Karia, Manish Prasad, Ewen McColl and Catherine Rutland
Dr Roshni Karia MCGDent (President of the College) and Dr Manish Prasad FCGDent (Clinical Director at MyDentist and a CGDent Certified Membership Facilitator) both participated in a panel discussion on the question of ‘How do we align the needs of the sector with the expectations of new dental professionals?’.
Dr Karia, who was previously an early careers observer on the board of the former Faculty of General Dental Practice UK (FGDP) and more recently was a member of the College’s Career Pathways Programme Board, noted that new dental professionals are looking for support and guidance to enable them to have fulfilling careers offering flexibility, a sustainable work-life balance and opportunities for growth and recognition. She added that the College is in the process of developing structured pathways for all members of the dental team which will align these desires with the needs of the sector by recognising appropriate education, experience and skills acquisition at each career stage.
Professor Ewen McColl FCGDent (Chair of the Dental Schools Council, member of the College Council and Editor of the College’s Standards in Dentistry publication) gave a presentation on “How do we prepare BDS students for practice?” and took part in a panel discussion on “Ensuring development opportunities that meet the needs of individual dental professionals“.
The sessions took place at the most recent ‘Dental Leadership Network’ day convened by the General Dental Council to facilitate shared ownership in addressing key challenges facing the profession.
Dr Catherine Rutland FCGDent (Clinical Director at Denplan) closed the event, and was also a facilitator of the final workshop session alongside Fiona Ellwood BEM (Executive Director of the Society of British Dental Nurses, Associate Member of the College and former Honorary Fellow of the FGDP).
Held in London on 25 March on the theme of ‘Future dental team: their expectations, development and career’’, the event followed a previous meeting on workforce challenges involving Dr Abhi Pal FCGDent (then President of the College), Dr Debbie Reed FCGDent, Dr Catherine Tannahill MCGDent (Director of Clinician Engagement of Portman Dental) and Ashley Byrne FCGDent (Board Member of the Dental Laboratories Association).
Earlier this week, the College and Haleon presented The Dental Health Barometer – the organisations’ joint report on improving the provision of preventative oral healthcare – at a breakfast briefing held in Parliament.
Jon Elliott, Roshni Karia MCGDent, Simon Thornton-Wood PhD, Kate Fabrikant FCGDent
The meeting was one of a series of discussions being held with stakeholders to communicate and gather support for the recommendations identified in the report, which are based on the experience and insight of general dental professionals on how to bridge the gap between intentions and practical delivery of preventative care.
The research underlying the report included a survey of 2,000 UK dental patients and over 500 dental professionals which highlighted inconsistencies in the provision of preventative oral healthcare advice, and rich discussions held with 77 oral health professionals, in all dental team roles, in focus group meetings hosted at eight general dental practices throughout the UK.
Attendees at the meeting were:
Sadik Al-Hassan MP (Labour, North Somerset)
David Arnold (Director of Communications, Oral Health Foundation)
Lewis Atkinson MP (Labour, Sunderland Central)
Professor Avijit Banerjee FCGDent (Professor of Cariology & Operative Dentistry at King’s College London and Chair of the College’s Faculty of Dentists)
Jon Elliott (Head of Corporate Affairs for Northern Europe, Haleon)
Dr Kate Fabrikant FCGDent (Medical Affairs Director for Northern Europe, Haleon)
Dr Elizabeth Fisher (Programme Lead for Children and Young People’s, Nuffield Trust)
Dr Roshni Karia MCGDent (President of the College)
Professor Philip Preshaw (President, British Society of Periodontology)
Simon Thornton-Wood PhD (Chief Executive of the College)
Dr Jason Wong MBE FCGDent (Chief Dental Officer, NHS England)
Philip Worsfold (Head of Dental Public Health, Department of Health and Social Care)
Infections which are resistant to treatment by antibiotics already kill more people than malaria and HIV/Aids, and on the current rate of growth will kill more people than cancer within the next 25 years.
United Nations headquarters in New York; courtesy of Anfaenger/Pixabay
This stark projection of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) illustrates the scale of the global problem which was the subject of a UN General Assembly High-Level Meeting in September.
AMR leads to antibiotics no longer being effective in treating or preventing infections, and is already restricting the ability to treat and prevent infections for some people. Ultimately, it may restrict the safe delivery of major surgery, chemotherapy, organ or stem cell transplants. AMR brings serious consequences for everyone.
World AMR Awareness Week (WAAW) – 18-24 November – was set up by the UN’s World Health Organisation ten years ago and has since been broadened to encompass human, animal, plant and environmental health. Twenty national dental organisations have come together to support the WAAW 2024 theme, ‘Educate. Advocate. Act now.’
Since the dramatic increase in dental prescribing of antibiotics during the COVID-19 pandemic, NHS dentistry has seen a year-on-year reduction. Further work is required so that everyone plays their part in keeping antibiotics working, by ensuring use only when strictly necessary.
Dr Wendy Thompson FCGDent, the College of General Dentistry’s AMR Lead, attended the recent UN meeting on AMR in New York:
“Dental professionals can help preserve the life-saving effectiveness of antibiotics for the health of our patients and for future generations. On behalf of all the organisations supporting this campaign, I urge colleagues to use the resources in the toolkit to ensure that they are only prescribing antimicrobials when strictly necessary, and to educate patients on the risks to themselves and wider society of unnecessary use of antibiotics. Please do what you can – Educate. Advocate. Act now!”
The College and Haleon have published a report on improving the provision of preventative oral healthcare.
Preventative care is defined as proactive dental care and advice that helps a patient to take action to maintain a healthy mouth, protecting against tooth decay, gum disease and more serious issues such as tooth loss and negative impacts on general health. The new report, The Dental Health Barometer, provides recommendations based on the experience and insight of general dental professionals on how to bridge the gap between intentions and practical delivery.
The underlying research began last year with a survey of 2,000 UK dental patients and over 500 dental professionals which highlighted inconsistencies in the provision of preventative oral healthcare advice. (A poster summarising those findings is available, as is a webinar examining them in more detail). This has since been built upon with rich discussions held with 77 oral health professionals, from all dental team roles, in focus group meetings hosted at eight general dental practices throughout the UK.
The most consistent finding is that oral health professionals seek redesigned NHS contracts to allow for more time and financial support in giving preventative oral care advice. The research also finds that the profession would like to see more resources devoted to providing nationwide preventative oral healthcare education, and a national communications campaign to tackle oral health misinformation.
The report highlights wider societal barriers to improving preventative oral care, such as competing social media narratives around oral health, diet and appearance; the erosion of long-term patient relationships; a continuing professional skew in some practices towards clinical treatments; and a tendency among non-dental health professionals not to deliver basic oral health messages.
The creation of a consumer-facing version of the Delivering Better Oral Health toolkit
Working with non-dental health professionals such as health visitors and midwives to inform them of the benefits of preventative oral care
Greater provision of CPD on the delivery of preventative care
Encouraging businesses to provide dental cover to employees
Celebrating team members such as dental hygienists in the mainstream media
Better use of digital communications such as apps and video streaming platforms
Roshni Karia MCGDent, President of the College, said:
“Our focus groups found that many dentists may feel that they are conducting a lonely battle against entrenched patient habits around oral health care, and doing so within NHS contracts which are unfavourable to providing adequate preventative advice. Our work with Haleon highlights the need to take action to support oral health professionals in a real time of need.”
Bas Vorsteveld, Vice President of Haleon and its General Manager for Great Britain and Ireland, commented:
“With a new Prime Minister in 10 Downing Street, our findings could not come at a more pivotal time for the future of dentistry in the UK. Working alongside the College of General Dentistry, we outline the key opportunities, our jointly developed solutions to safeguard the future of preventative oral care provisions for UK consumers and oral health professionals alike. We welcome the new Labour government’s plan to rescue the UK’s dental sector, but we urge them to go further and make NHS contracts fit for purpose by prioritising prevention. Only by working alongside the profession and industry can the new government make the step-change that UK dentistry clearly needs.”
Haleon, formerly the consumer healthcare division of GlaxoSmithKline, is the manufacturer of well-known oral health products such as Sensodyne, Corsodyl, Aquafresh, Poligrip, Biotene and Parodontax.
The College and Haleon will continue to work together to advocate for improvements in the provision of preventative oral healthcare.
The College and Haleon would like to thank all those College members who volunteered to host a focus group in their practice, and all the members, colleagues and patients who participated in the research.
The NAO’s London office, the Grade II listed former Imperial Airways Empire Terminal
The public spending watchdog, which supports Parliament in holding government to account for its expenditure, is in the process of looking into how the previous government developed its ‘Dental Recovery Plan’ for NHS Dentistry, what progress has been made since the plan was announced, and how the government plans to evaluate and monitor its impact.
The College was among the organisations invited to give evidence on the extent and nature of any involvement of the profession in the development of the dental recovery plan; what opportunities there have been to engage with the ongoing delivery of the plan; and how it assesses the likely impact of specific measures in the plan.
The Dental Recovery Plan, announced in February 2024, set out a range of initiatives, both new and previously-announced, intended to help tackle some of the many longstanding problems facing NHS dental provision in England. These included a Smile For Life programme, a new patient premium, mobile dental vans, the use of private practices to deliver NHS care, a ‘golden hello’ for new graduates, an increase in dental school places, medicines exemptions for dental hygienists and therapists, an increase in the minimum value of a Unit of Dental Activity (UDA), more community water fluoridation, more places and sittings for the Overseas Registration Examination and Licentiate in Dental Surgery, faster entry to the NHS Performers List, provisional registration, and the identification of qualifications from outside the European Economic Area which meet the required standard for GDC registration.
The College was not involved in the development of the Dental Recovery Plan, and following its publication issued a point-by-point response.
An update on the new patient premium, minimum UDA value, ‘golden hellos’ and mobile dental vans was published by NHS England in May. The College continues to engage in discussions around introducing medicines exemptions and expanding community water fluoridation, both of which are longstanding government policy, and has also participated in early discussion of provisional registration.
The NAO is expected to publish its report later this year.
The College is supporting government proposals to extend community water fluoridation in north east England.
Around half of the North East either has naturally fluoridated water or has had its water artificially fluoridated for around half a century, including Newcastle, Gateshead, North Shields, Wallsend, Whitley Bay and parts of County Durham. The Department of Health and Social Care, supported by the relevant local authorities, is proposing to extend this to a further 1.6 million people in Cleveland, Darlington, Durham, Hartlepool, Middlesborough, Northumberland, Redcar, Stockton, Sunderland and Tyneside, as well as neighbouring parts of Westmorland, Furness and North Yorkshire.[i]
The College has submitted a positive response to the proposals, in which Simon Hearnshaw FCGDent, the College’s lead on community water fluoridation, highlights epidemiological data demonstrating significant differences in the prevalence of tooth decay, and rates of extraction, between fluoridated and non-fluoridated areas in the region which otherwise have similar indicators of deprivation.
Tooth decay is the most prevalent disease in the UK, and the College supports localised water fluoridation as one means to help reduce its incidence and severity, and the consequent need for invasive oral health interventions, particularly in areas of high need.
There is evidence that the provision of water which is either naturally or artificially fluoridated to around 1 milligram per litre is both safe [ii][iii] and effective [iv][v][vi] in reducing dental caries in a given population. A Cochrane Review in 2015 estimated that water fluoridation resulted in children with no other sources of fluoride having 35% fewer decayed, missing and filled baby teeth and 26% fewer decayed, missing and filled permanent teeth. It also led to a 15% increase in children with no decay in their baby teeth and a 14% increase in children with no decay in their permanent teeth.[vii]
Tooth extraction due to preventable decay remains the most common cause of hospital admission in England for five- to nine-year-old children [viii], and the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities (OHID, formerly Public Health England) estimates that if all five-year-olds currently drinking water with 0.2mg/l of fluoride instead received fluoridated water of at least 0.7mg/l, then the number experiencing decay would fall by 28% in the most deprived areas, and the number of hospital admissions for tooth extractions due to decay would reduce by up to 68%. An analysis by OHID also found that water fluoridation is the most cost-effective intervention to prevent tooth decay, offering a return on investment of over £12 after 5 years, and £22 after 10 years, for every £1 spent.[ix]
While the four UK Chief Medical Officers have published a statement describing water fluoridation as an effective public health intervention in reducing both tooth decay and oral health inequalities [x], only around one in ten households in England currently receives tap water containing fluoride at the recommended level [xi], and since 1985 over 60 local health authorities have consulted on initiating water fluoridation without success.[xii] But the government now has the power to directly introduce or vary water fluoridation schemes [xiii], and the proposals for the North East will test whether this will lead to new community water fluoridation schemes in England for the first time in 40 years.[xiv]
[iv] Griffin SO, Regnier E, Griffin PM and Huntley V, 2007. Effectiveness of fluoride in preventing caries in adults. Journal of Dental Research, 86(5), pp.410-415
[v] Slade GD, Grider WB, Maas WR, Sanders AE. Water Fluoridation and Dental Caries in U.S. Children and Adolescents. J Dent Res. 2018 Sep;97(10):1122-1128
[vi] Touyz LZG, Nassani LM. Affirmation: Fluoridated Water Reduces Caries in Children. J Pediatr Dent Hyg. 2019; 1(1): 1003
[vii] Iheozor-Ejiofor Z, Worthington HV, Walsh T, O’Malley L, Clarkson JE, Macey R, Alam R, Tugwell P, Welch V, Glenny AM. Water fluoridation for the prevention of dental caries. Cochrane Database Systematic Review. 2015 Jun 18;2015(6):CD010856. Available at: https://www.cochrane.org/CD010856/ORAL_water-fluoridation-prevent-tooth-decay
[xii] Goodwin M, Emsley R, Kelly MP, et al. Evaluation of water fluoridation scheme in Cumbria: the CATFISH prospective longitudinal cohort study [Internet]. Southampton (UK): National Institute for Health and Care Research; 2022 Nov. (Public Health Research, No. 10.11.) Chapter 3, History and implementation of water fluoridation as a public health intervention. Available at: https://www.journalslibrary.nihr.ac.uk/phr/SHMX1584/
Jason Wong has been appointed Chief Dental Officer (CDO) for England.
A career general dental practitioner, and partner in a 12-surgery mixed practice in Grantham, he was Secretary of the Lincolnshire Local Dental Committee for 16 years, is a past Chair of the Local Dental Network for NHS Central Midlands, and had been Interim CDO since Sara Hurley stood down in June 2023.
A Fellow of the College and previously of the former Faculty of General Dental Practice (FGDP), in 2017 he received the Faculty’s Community Contribution Award in recognition of his local oral health initiatives and commitment to developing the skills of local dentists.
In January 2020 he was awarded an MBE for services to dentistry and oral health, and he was appointed Deputy CDO for England later that year. As Chair of ‘Project Sphere’, he has worked to promote a positive patient safety culture in dentistry, a subject on which he has hosted a webinar, lectured and written a blog for the College, and the College also hosts his collaborative initiative to encourage dental professionals to ensure they seek advice from suitable sources when patient safety incidents occur. He is also a speaker on the College’s webinar on dental care for patients with diabetes.
Senior College members took part in a recent panel discussion on the question of ‘How do we support and retain our workforce and ensure that they have the right skills to meet future challenges?’.
The discussion covered skills development both for the individual and across the profession, the importance of teamwork to staff retention, making great places to work, supporting team members to manage stress, and preventing career burn out. Speaking on behalf of the College, Dr Abhi Pal FCGDent, then President, and Dr Debbie Reed FCGDent, Board Chair of the CGDent Faculty of Dental Nursing and Orthodontic Therapy, also pressed home the need for recognised Career Pathways for all members of the dental team, and the vital role of mentoring as part of the solution for addressing workforce retention issues. The other panel members were Dr Catherine Tannahill MCGDent, Director of Clinician Engagement of Portman Dental, and Dr Dhru Shah, CEO of Dentinal Tubules.
The session was part of a meeting of dental leaders from across the UK, which was held in London on 14 March on the theme of ‘Maintaining an effective workforce fit for the future’. The day also included a panel discussion on the government’s ‘Recovery Plan’ for NHS dentistry in England, and presentations from Andrea Sutcliffe CBE, Chief Executive of the Nursing and Midwifery Council, on role, values and culture; from Ashley Byrne FCGDent, Board Member of the Dental Laboratories Association, on the challenges facing dental technology; from Theresa Thorp, GDC Executive Director for Regulation, who provided insights from the GDC’s work pattern data exercise; and from Stefan Czerniawski, GDC Executive Director for Strategy, on provisional registration.
The ‘Dental Leadership Network’ is convened quarterly by the General Dental Council to facilitate shared ownership in addressing key challenges facing the profession.
Dr Pal commented:
“The formation of the Dental Leadership Network is a positive step in bringing together key stakeholders and leaders within the profession to discuss current issues.”
Stefan Czerniawski said:
“It’s really valuable for leaders across the dental sector to invest time in discussing the shared issues that affect us all and, most importantly, patients. Collaboration and ownership only works if the whole of the dental world is engaged.”
The College has published its full response to the government’s Dental Recovery Plan, adding further detail to the interim response from its President, Dr Abhi Pal FCGDent, which was issued earlier this week.
Announcing the plan, Health Secretary Victoria Atkins MP quoted the College on the importance of making use of the full range of skills of all dental team members
The updated statement from the College includes responses to the proposal to speed up entry to the NHS Performers List; to the idea of commissioning private-only dentists to deliver NHS care; to the intention to press the GDC in relation to the recognition of additional qualifications as being equivalent to the UK BDS; to the intended expansion of the LDS, and to the plan to provide preparatory support for LDS candidates. It also includes additional considerations in relation to the proposed ‘golden hello’; to the creation of a provisional registration scheme; and to the increase in the number of dental school places.
The new commentary is as follows:
“While we support in principle the NHS making use of available local capacity to provide much-needed dental care, the proposal to use private-only dentists to do this would either fail or be completely iniquitous to those practitioners who have remained committed to NHS delivery. The correct solutions are to take measures to support the recruitment and retention of dental professionals in the NHS, and to support the financial viability of practices through adequate funding of contracts.
“We are already looking forward to an increase in the number of sittings and places for the Overseas Registration Examination, and we welcome the proposed expansion of the LDS examination. We also welcome proposals to support candidates in preparing for the LDS, and would advocate for similar support to be made available to candidates preparing for the ORE.
“We support the intention to speed up entry to the NHS Performers List, and the possibility of provisional registration, but public safety must not be compromised in our haste to fill gaps in the workforce. There must be proper structure in the training and assessment of provisional registrants, and a robust Quality Assurance process must be developed to ensure that the end product is a Safe Practitioner. Additional training and support may also be required for supervising dentists, as this role may well be more challenging than that of Educational Supervisor of Foundation Dentists.
“Similarly, we support the intention to identify non-EEA qualifications which meet the standard required for registration as a dentist in the UK, but due care and rigour must take priority in order to ensure patient safety. In time, this may prove a useful additional means of ameliorating the labour shortage experienced by dental practices, and the consequent lack of access to NHS dental care experienced by so many patients.”
The sections of the response which have been expanded are as follows:
“The planned ‘golden hello’ scheme also brings implicit recognition of the difficulties experienced by dental practices in the recruitment and retention of clinical staff to deliver NHS dental care. However, we are concerned that the proposed short-term offer, which is in any case limited to dentists, may fail to overcome many practitioners’ long-term concerns about embarking on a career in NHS care delivery, among which are burnout, lack of career progression and insufficient recognition for enhanced skills. We would emphasise that these factors apply not only to dentists but to other members of the dental team, especially dental nurses, and consideration should be given to exploring alternative models of incentivisation to support their recruitment and retention.”
“We are already looking forward to the increase in the number of dental school places available for dentistry, dental hygiene and dental therapy students. The planned expansion of student numbers must be accompanied by an appropriate increase in academic teaching capacity and resources so that the quality of undergraduate training is maintained.”
The College response in full is below.
The College’s response to the ‘Dental Recovery Plan’ in full
Responding to the government’s Dental Recovery Plan, Dr Abhi Pal FCGDent, President of the College, said:
“The government has set out a range of initiatives intended to help tackle some of the many longstanding problems facing NHS dental provision in England. These include some potentially positive new initiatives, which we welcome, alongside previously made announcements. However, while some further positive changes to the dental contract are anticipated later this year, the Dental Recovery Plan does not represent the more fundamental contract reform which is required, nor will the additional £210m in funding behind the plan, welcome as it is, restore universal access to NHS dental care.
“We welcome the proposed Smile For Life programme, with its focus on intervening early to prevent oral diseases in children. Tooth decay remains the leading cause of hospital admission for 6–10-year-olds in England, and a preventative approach has the potential to reduce the need for restorative treatment. However, we wait to see whether sufficient resources will be invested for the programme to be a success.
“The additional temporary funding aimed at those who have been unable to access dental care for two years or more is much needed. However, we would like to see consideration of the ongoing care of individuals benefitting from this initiative.
“The intention to bring NHS dentistry back to some of the many communities who have lost access to it is also very welcome. While mobile units may help in the short term, bricks-and-mortar dental surgeries should remain the backbone of routine ongoing care delivery, and appropriate funding should be put in place to support the re-establishment of NHS practices to address lack of access and meet the volume of need.
“While we support in principle the NHS making use of available local capacity to provide much-needed dental care, the proposal to use private-only practices to do this would either fail or be completely iniquitous to those practices which have remained committed to NHS delivery. The correct solutions are to take measures to support the recruitment and retention of dental professionals in the NHS, and to support the financial viability of practices through adequate funding of contracts.
“The planned ‘golden hello’ scheme also brings implicit recognition of the difficulties experienced by dental practices in the recruitment and retention of clinical staff to deliver NHS dental care. However, we are concerned that the proposed short-term offer, which is in any case limited to dentists, may fail to overcome many practitioners’ long-term concerns about embarking on a career in NHS care delivery, among which are burnout, lack of career progression and insufficient recognition for enhanced skills. We would emphasise that these factors apply not only to dentists but to other members of the dental team, especially dental nurses, and consideration should be given to exploring alternative models of incentivisation to support their recruitment and retention.
“We are already looking forward to the increase in the number of dental school places available for dentistry, dental hygiene and dental therapy students. The planned expansion of student numbers must be accompanied by an appropriate increase in academic teaching capacity and resources so that the quality of undergraduate training is maintained.
“We also look forward to the implementation of medicines exemptions for dental hygienists and therapists. Greater recognition and use of the full range of skills of all team members will enable the delivery of more care and make NHS dentistry more attractive to dental professionals. We also look forward to further proposals which empower the wider dental team when the next set of contractual changes are consulted upon.
“We also recognise that an increase in the minimum UDA value will support a minority of practices to continue delivering NHS dental care. And we support the intent to introduce community water fluoridation in areas of high need as this has the potential to reduce the prevalence of oral diseases and the need for invasive interventions.
“Finally, while dental practices struggle to recruit and many patients struggle to access care, there are many dental professionals who have qualified and practised overseas and who could be providing care here in the UK, but are unable to do so due to the waiting lists for registration exams.
“We are already looking forward to an increase in the number of sittings and places for the Overseas Registration Examination, and we welcome the proposed expansion of the LDS examination. We also welcome proposals to support candidates in preparing for the LDS, and would advocate for similar support to be made available to candidates preparing for the ORE.
“We support the intention to speed up entry to the NHS Performers List, and the possibility of provisional registration, but public safety must not be compromised in our haste to fill gaps in the workforce. There must be proper structure in the training and assessment of provisional registrants, and a robust Quality Assurance process must be developed to ensure that the end product is a Safe Practitioner. Additional training and support may also be required for supervising dentists, as this role may well be more challenging than that of Educational Supervisor of Foundation Dentists.
“Similarly, we support the intention to identify non-EEA qualifications which meet the standard required for registration as a dentist in the UK, but due care and rigour must take priority in order to ensure patient safety. In time, this may prove a useful additional means of ameliorating the labour shortage experienced by dental practices, and the consequent lack of access to NHS dental care experienced by so many patients.”
The College has issued an interim response to the government’s press release announcing a ‘Dental Recovery Plan’, pending publication of the plan itself which is expected later today.
Commenting on the proposals in the release, Dr Abhi Pal FCGDent, President of the College of General Dentistry, said:
“The government has today set out a range of initiatives intended to help tackle some of the many longstanding problems facing NHS dental provision in England. These include some potentially positive new initiatives, which we welcome, alongside previously made announcements. However, while some further positive changes to the dental contract are anticipated later this year, the Dental Recovery Plan does not represent the more fundamental contract reform which is required, nor will the additional £210m in funding behind the plan, welcome as it is, restore universal access to NHS dental care.
“We welcome the proposed Smile For Life programme, with its focus on intervening early to prevent oral diseases in children. Tooth decay remains the leading cause of hospital admission for 6–10-year-olds in England, and a preventative approach has the potential to reduce the need for restorative treatment. However, we wait to see whether sufficient resources will be invested for the programme to be a success.
“The additional temporary funding aimed at those who have been unable to access dental care for two years or more is much needed. However, we would like to see consideration of the ongoing care of individuals benefitting from this initiative.
“The intention to bring NHS dentistry back to some of the many communities who have lost access to it is also very welcome. While mobile units may help in the short term, bricks-and-mortar dental surgeries should remain the backbone of routine ongoing care delivery, and appropriate funding should be put in place to support the re-establishment of NHS practices to address lack of access and meet the volume of need.
“The planned ‘golden hello’ scheme brings implicit recognition of the difficulties experienced by dental practices in the recruitment and retention of clinical staff to deliver NHS dental care. However, we are concerned that this short-term offer may fail to overcome many practitioners’ long-term concerns about embarking on a career in NHS care delivery, among which are burnout, lack of career progression and insufficient recognition for enhanced skills.
“We are already looking forward to the expansion in the number of dental school places available for dentistry and dental hygiene students, and to the implementation of medicines exemptions for dental hygienists and therapists. Greater recognition and use of the full range of skills of all team members will enable the delivery of more care and make NHS dentistry more attractive to dental professionals. We also look forward to further proposals which empower the wider dental team when the next set of contractual changes are consulted upon.
“We also recognise that an increase in the minimum UDA value will support a small number of practices to continue delivering NHS dental care. And we support the intent to introduce community water fluoridation in areas of high need as this has the potential to reduce the prevalence of oral diseases and the need for invasive interventions.
“Finally, while dental practices struggle to recruit and many patients struggle to access care, there are many dental professionals who have qualified and practised overseas and who could be providing care here in the UK, but are unable to do so due to the waiting lists for the Overseas Registration Exams. So we welcome the possibility of provisional registration, and await the detail with interest.”
This response may be updated following publication of the plan.
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