Please see below the latest information on dental reform from the Primary care Bulletin – NHS England has written to dental commissioners following the government’s response to the NHS dentistry quality and payment reforms consultation.
The overall responses to the consultation were positive, and the government will implement all the changes consulted on with amendments to reflect the consultation feedback. The key measures include:
- providing additional unscheduled care capacity appointments by embedding unscheduled care into the dental contract, supported by increased payments for dentists delivering this care, making it easier for patients to get rapid support for unscheduled dental needs through the NHS;
- introduce new clinical and payment structures specifically designed to provide better care for patients with unmanaged progressive disease who require more intensive treatment;
- support increased use of cost-effective evidence-based prevention interventions in children, reducing the opportunities for disease progression;
- introduce a new payment for denture modifications, relining, rebasing and repairs;
- improve care quality by introducing quality improvement activities and funded appraisals, allowing teams to focus on the quality of care they deliver and to evaluate performance;
- extending discretionary support payments and NHS handbook for dental teams, helping them to feel part of the wider NHS
A series of regional ICB workshops will be held in January 2026 to provide details on the contract changes. The focus will be on setting out the expectations for unscheduled care, complex care and quality improvement, as well as further information on the other changes.
Detailed contractual and clinical guidance will be published in February 2026, together with additional guidance on quality improvement. The contract changes will be implemented from April 2026.
If you would like to download the latest Primary Care Bulletin, please follow the link below –
