Asked about dental decay in children, Sir Chris said one of the lines of defence against rotten teeth is visiting a dentist at an early stage for intervention, adding: “It is a very sad reality that the commonest procedure that the children go into hospital for is for a destruction of teeth due to severe dental caries (tooth decay), which of course sets them up for lifelong poor dental health.
Key components of the plan include: a new patient premium (NPP) to drive up the number of people able to access NHS dental services; ‘golden hellos’ to incentivise dentists to practice in under-served areas; and an “uplift” to the amount dentists were paid for NHS procedures, also known as units of dental activity (UDA).
Professor Sir Chris Whitty, who is also the interim permanent secretary at the Department for Health and Social Care, said that NHS dentistry is not up to the same standard as other parts of the health service, adding that the last time it was operating “as it should” was around three decades ago.
Ms Pritchard told the committee that the plan to recover NHS dental services in England was “not successful” and the document “overstated” the number of new patients who would be given treatment.
Commenting, Shiv Pabary, chairman of the British Dental Association’s general dental practice committee, said: “Government says it’s ‘going for growth’, but Treasury policy is doing the exact opposite for dental care.
