BBC NEWS NHS dentistry in England needs to be completely overhauled to improve access, the Conservatives have said.

They have proposed a series of measures, including NHS quotas for dentists, school check-ups and an overhaul in the way dentists are paid.

A new contract introduced in England and Wales in 2006 aimed to attract more dentists to the NHS, but latest figures show fewer patients are being treated.

But the government says access to NHS dentistry is already improving.

A Department of Health spokesman said: "We aim to ensure that everyone who wants to see an NHS dentist can by March 2011.

"We have invested over £2bn in NHS dentistry - the result is more NHS dental practices expanding and opening all the time.

The tide is turning and we are now seeing access to NHS dentistry starting to increase."

The 2006 deal effectively scrapped the system of registration whereby dentists had a list of patients.

Instead, they have been paid to carry out a set number of courses of treatment.


The Tories said they would make changes to the contract to restore registration so that dentists were paid to provide treatment to a set number of patients with incentives in place to encourage good care as happens under the current GP contract.

Their proposals also include a return to school screening for five-year-olds - they say two thirds of NHS trusts no longer run the check-ups since the rules were relaxed in 2007.

The party said it also wanted to see quotas introduced to ensure newly qualified dentists worked a set amount in the health service for five years.

I really don’t care who sorts it out, just get it sorted, having to wait until 2011 for everyone to have a dentist is pathetic after over ten years of Labour power, and yes, the old way was best with dentists’ lists and school checkups.

And making dentists work in the NHS for five years is actually a good idea.


"We can try to avoid making choices by doing nothing, but even that is a decision."-Gary Collins


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