Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to reform NHS dental contracts to ensure that they prioritise prevention.

From 1 April 2023, the responsibility for commissioning primary care dentistry to meet the needs of the local population has been delegated to all integrated care boards (ICBs) across England. This included the transfer of all funding, Units of Dental Activity, and the management responsibility for National Health Service dentistry.

The current NHS dental contract already requires dental services to provide preventative care and treatment. To support dentists with this, NHS England and the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities have produced a comprehensive toolkit for dentists, providing evidence-based interventions and advice on how dental health professionals can improve and maintain their patient’s oral health. This guidance is available on the GOV.UK website, in an online-only format.

As set out in Our plan to recover and reform NHS dentistry, we are working on further reforms to the 2006 contract, in discussion with the dental profession, to properly reflect the care needed by different patients, and more fairly remunerate practices. We expect to develop options for consultation with the dental profession in advance of a further announcement later this year. Any changes would be phased in from 2025 onwards. The plan also includes a range of measures which will prevent poor oral health, particularly in the youngest children, including dental teams providing preventative advice and treatment to reception-age children in the most under-served areas, and a new Smile for Life programme which will provide education and advice for nurseries and other early years settings.