Overview
- Urgent care will become a core requirement for NHS dental practices, with incentives to offer rapid appointments for severe pain, infections and trauma.
- Payments for urgent NHS appointments will rise to around £75 from about £40, and new standardised packages for complex treatment could save patients roughly £225.
- The reforms follow a public consultation and are billed as the most significant contract changes in years, with implementation requiring legislative steps.
- The government reiterates its pledge of 700,000 additional urgent appointments a year alongside measures such as supervised toothbrushing and water fluoridation.
- Healthwatch reports people being denied urgent care and resorting to DIY dentistry, while the BDA says the plan adds no new money and sector groups cite a shortfall of over 2,500 dentists.