Many of the details of these new plans proposed by Sir Keir Starmer are yet to be unveiled, with some commitments having been seen before. This means that despite welcome ambitions, detail will be the indicator of whether success is likely. The commitment to reform the dental contract, for example, does not yet provide specificity on how improvements will be made. It is crucial that any further changes ensure that complex and lengthy treatments are rewarded fairly and that NHS dentists are not discouraged from performing them for patients in need. This will require centralised guidance from the NHS to commissioners, advising them on how to fairly modify NHS contracts to meet individual dentists’ needs.
Similarly, the Government provides very little detail on addressing the crisis in dentistry, beyond commitments to increase the dental workforce as part of the NHS long term workforce plan. Far more needs to be done to ensure there are enough practitioners to meet the rising demand for dental care. This includes supporting the dental profession with continued professional training and development as well as enabling practices to make better use of the wider dental teams – such as by allowing dental therapists and hygienist to have NHS performer numbers. The conversation on reform also needs to include speeding up registration tracks to overseas dentists in countries which may have a surplus.
As we enter an election year, where the political debate will be stretched across multiple issues, we are determined to not let dentistry slip down the agenda. A mixed model approach to dentistry -combining NHS and private services - can have huge value for the profession and support the public to embrace a preventative approach to oral health.
We will continue engaging with government and key policy makers to ensure dentistry is given the prioritisation it deserves, particularly to find new ways in which private dentistry can support the NHS and so ultimately, the overall health of the UK population.