Dental publications cover NHS activity, patient access, patient charges; treatment patterns before and after the new dental contract; workforce; workload; earnings and expenses. Topics on eye care include NHS sight tests; optical vouchers; repair/replacement vouchers and workforce.
Publications
The Action Plan for Improving Oral Health and Modernising NHS Dental Services was published in 2005. It set out the then Scottish Executive's policy and plans for dentistry and dental public health for the next 3 years (SEHD, 2005). This plan has brought increased investment to dentistry, and to ensure this investment is achieving its goals a range of targets was set around oral health improvement, primary care dental service delivery and quality, and dental workforce and training. This is a 6-monthly report monitoring NHS Boards progress towards the targets.
This release presents some preliminary results from the 2009 Adult Dental Health Survey, covering Northern Ireland, England and Wales.
An Analysis of Dental Workforce in Scotland
Provides information on the dental health of children, provides information on children's' experiences of dental care and treatment, and measures changes in these and associated factors over time.
Provides information on NHS clinical dental activity for quarters 3 and 4 for 2008/09.
Provides some background as to the role of the Community Dental Service (CDS).
Information about the number of new NHS dental contracts signed and rejected and the approximate service value of these contracts.
The Dental Earnings and Expenses report provides a detailed study of the earnings and expenses of General Dental Services (GDS) and Personal Dental Services (PDS) dentists in England and Wales.
This release includes NHS General Dental Service (GDS) registration figures and information on the Hospital Dental Service on outpatients, inpatients and day cases.
Information on GDS treatments and fees paid to dentists for children and adults. Prior to July 2010 this publication was released as part of an overall "Dental Statistics" publication.
General Dental Service registrations. From the November 2010 release this publication will use new methodology only (patient postcode). It will also provide an analysis of patient participation (contact with a GDS dentist) and registrations by SIMD 2009. Prior to January 2010 this publication was released as part of an overall "Dental Statistics" publication.
Provides information on NHS dental activity within a sample of adult Courses of Treatment (CoTs).
Provides information on dental working hours for NHS dentists in England and Wales.
Statistics include the number of NHS sight tests, vouchers, repairs and numbers of opticians in Wales. Formerly known as Ophthalmic Statistics for Wales.
The GPPS was developed to collect information on elements of patient access to GP services and choice of hospital services. It also includes NHS dentistry services.
Summary information about General Ophthalmic Services activity in England including trends.
Summary information about General Ophthalmic Services workforce in England and Wales including trends.
Statistics on the results of the GP Patient Survey’s newly added dental questions. Questions relate to patients’ access to NHS dental care. Data available at national, SHA and PCT level
Provides data on NHS General Dental Services activity and the number of people seen in Wales.
This report considers NHS dental activity in England under the new contractual arrangements.
Reports on NHS dental activity and patients seen in England. Annual report also covers workforce and patient charges.
Report of annual survey of Primary 1 / Primary 7 children's dental health, which gathers information to inform children (and parents) of their dental/oral health status through anonymised, combined data; and advise the Scottish Govenment, NHS Boards and other organisations concerned with children's health of the oral disease prevalence in their area.
Statistics include the number of NHS sight tests, vouchers, repairs and numbers of opticians in Wales.
Sight tests, vouchers claimed, tints and repairs and replacements paid for by the NHS boards in Scotland. Data is also presented by type of claimant.
Provides an overview of NHS prescriptions written by dentists and dispensed in the community. It is based on data supplied by the Prescription Services division of the NHS Business Services Authority.
Provides information on NHS dental activity within a sample of adult Courses of Treatment (CoTs).
This experimental publication reports on the use of selected drugs which have been appraised by NICE (National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence).
Overview
There is a range of statistics and publications on different aspects of Dentistry and Eye Care. These include:
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NHS Dental Statistics for England covers the National Health Service (NHS) dental treatment, much of which is undertaken by ‘high street dentists’. It does not cover private work
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Dental Working Hours, England and Wales presents results of the ‘NHS Business and Provider and Performer Arrangement Enquiry'
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Dental Treatment Band Analysis, England and Wales presents information on NHS dental activity within a sample of adult Courses of Treatment (CoTs) and compared to equivalent information for 2003/04
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Dental Earnings and Expenses presents the earnings and expenses of General Dental Services (GDS) and Personal Dental Services (PDS) dentists. Results are based on anonymised tax data
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NHS Expenditure for General Dental Services and Personal Dental Services: England gives local-level information on expenditure in England on NHS primary dental care
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General Ophthalmic Services: Activity Statistics for England and Wales presents statistics which are derived from data provided by Primary Care Trusts (PCTs) in England and Local Health Boards (LHBs) in Wales, which contract with ophthalmic practitioners to provide NHS sight tests and vouchers
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General Ophthalmic Services: Workforce Statistics for England and Wales shows the NHS ophthalmic workforce as at 31 December 2007. The data source for this report is the Ophthalmic Payments System, accessed by PCTs and LHBs
Summary table for dental working hours analysis, England and Wales, 2009/10
| Dentists' contract type | Average | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weekly hours | Weekly NHS hours | NHS (%) | Private (%) | |
| GDS | 37.1 | 26.2 | 70.4 | 29.6 |
| PDS | 37.1 | 30.3 | 81.6 | 18.4 |
| Mixed GDS/PDS | 38.5 | 31.3 | 81.5 | 18.5 |
| All dentists | 37.2 | 27.2 | 73.1 | 26.9 |
Source: Dental Working Hours England and Wales 2008/09 and 2009/10
Technical Data
NHS Dental Statistics for England
The NHS Information Centre publishes regular information on NHS primary care dental services. Detailed reports that cover each financial year are supported by quarterly updates. The data are provided from the NHS Business Service Authority Dental Services Division (NHS BSA DSD) payment systems. This report is divided into four sections:
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Activity: the number of Courses of Treatment (CoTs) delivered broken down by treatment band or Strategic Health Authority (SHA) and the Units of Dental Activity (UDAs) this represents
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Patients Seen: the number of patients who received care or treatment
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Patient Charges: the number of treatments delivered broken down by adult charge payers (and the revenue generated), non-paying adults and children
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Workforce: the number of performers with NHS activity recorded via FP17 forms during the year
Dental Working Hours, England and Wales
Information on dental working hours for NHS dentists. Information on average weekly hours, weekly NHS hours, weeks of annual leave, the division of time between NHS and private dentistry, and between clinical and administrative work.
Dental Treatment Band Analysis, England and Wales
A new dental contract system was introduced in England and Wales on 1 April 2006. This entailed a move away from recording individual treatment items to a simpler system whereby treatments are divided into three main bands, based on the most complex treatment within the course. This report looks at equivalent dental activity data under the old and new contractual arrangements.
Dental Earnings and Expenses
The latest results relate to the first year of the new contractual arrangements for NHS dentists in England and Wales. The report presents figures for net profit, expenses and gross earnings and includes various breakdowns including dentist type, contract type and region.
NHS Expenditure for General Dental Services and Personal Dental Services: England
This one-off report gives local-level information on expenditure in England on NHS primary dental care provided within the General Dental Service (GDS) and Personal Dental Service pilots (PDS) for the financial years 1997/98 to 2005/06. The DSD is responsible for transferring payments to dentists for the NHS dental services that they provide, on behalf of Primary Care Trusts and the data effectively represent cash payments in each year.
General Ophthalmic Services: Activity Statistics for England and Wales
This report contains a large volume of data on NHS sight tests, optical vouchers and vouchers for repairs or replacements broken down by variables such as patient eligibility categories and region.
General Ophthalmic Services: Workforce Statistics for England and Wales
Information showing the number of optometrists and ophthalmic medical practitioners who hold contracts with PCTs and LHBs.
Glossary
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A course of treatment (CoT)
Defined as an examination of a patient, an assessment of their oral health and the planning of any treatment to be provided to that patient as a result of the examination and assessment. It also refers to the provision of any planned treatment (including any treatment planned at a time other than that of the initial examination) to that patient.
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FP17 claim forms
Used by NHS dentists to record information on CoTs completed and then submit to the DSD; in most cases electronically. It is the information on these forms that is used to report the NHS activity of NHS dentists.
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General dental services (GDS)
Those dental services which are mandatory and providers who contract with PCTs to deliver dental services must provide.
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General Ophthalmic Services (GOS)
Services that aim to provide, through community opticians’ practices, preventative and corrective eye care for children, people aged 60 and over, people on low incomes, and those suffering from or pre-disposed to eye disease.
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Patient charges
Paid by charge paying adult patients; adults who have been recorded as eligible to pay the full charge for the band. The level of the charge is determined by the treatment band.
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Patients seen
A measure referred to in the operating framework. It is a measure of the number of unique patients who have visited an NHS dentist at least once in the 24-month period leading up to a given date.
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Personal Dental Services (PDS)
PDS differ from General Dental Services (GDS) in that they do not have to include a full range of mandatory services, except in the case of former PDS pilots that were not specialist services. If a provider only provides specialist services, such as orthodontic work, this has to be under a PDS agreement.
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The Ophthalmic List (OL)
A register of all ophthalmic practitioners that hold a contract with a PCT/LHB to undertake NHS sight tests. In order to hold a contract with a PCT/LBH, an ophthalmic practitioner must be able to meet the GOS terms of service including those for premises, equipment, records, and responsibility for acts and omissions of employees/assistants.
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The Supplementary Ophthalmic list (OL)
A register of ophthalmic practitioners that are qualified to carry out NHS sight tests that may be working under a particular contract. They do not hold the contract but are authorised to carry out NHS sight tests as an assistant on that contract.
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Treatment bands
A feature of the new dental contract system, and represented a move away from recording individual treatment items (the basis of payments to dentists under the old arrangements). CoTs are divided into three main treatment bands, based on the most complex treatment within the course. Band 1 covers a check up and simple treatments, Band 2 includes further mid-range treatments in addition to Band 1 work, and Band 3 includes further complex treatments in addition to Band 1 and Band 2 work.
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Trust-led Dental Services (TDS)
Can provide services under PDS agreements and then pay dentists directly rather than through the DSD Payments Online system.
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Units of Dental Activity (UDAs)
Related to CoTs through a weighting system. The weights are used to convert the CoT data to UDAs by band. Band 3 receives the highest weighting as it is where the most complex CoTs are classified.
Contact Details
For statistical enquiries about this topic, please contact:
The NHS Information Centre of Health and Social Care
Email: Enquiries@ic.nhs.uk
Telephone: +44 (0) 845 300 6016
The NHS Information Centre of Health and Social Care 1 Trevelyan Square Boar Lane Leeds LS1 6AE
