Wide Regional Variation In The Number Of Patients Seen For NHS Dental Treatment, UK

The number of patients seen for NHS dental treatment varies from area to area, latest figures released by The NHS Information Centre confirm.


The report, NHS Dental Statistics for England, Quarter 3: 31 December 2007, found the proportion of both children and adults receiving NHS dental treatment varied according to strategic health authority (SHA) area. The variation was wider for adults than for children.


In the two years to December 2007, 49.3 per cent of adults in England were seen by an NHS dentist. This figure varied from area to area, ranging from 38.9 per cent in South Central SHA area to 58.3 per cent in North East SHA area.


Over the same two year period, 69.6 per cent of children in England were seen by an NHS dentist. The highest proportion was in North East SHA where 73.4 per cent of children accessed NHS dental care, while the lowest proportion was in London SHA where 64.8 per cent of children accessed NHS dental care.


The report also showed the number of patients treated by an NHS dentist is now less than it was at the start of the new commissioning and contractual arrangements for NHS dentistry which were introduced on 1 April 2006.


In the two years to December 2007, a total of 27.3 million patients saw an NHS dentist - equivalent to 53.7 per cent of the population. In the two years to April 2006, a total of 28.1 million patients saw an NHS dentist - 55.8 per cent of the population at that time.


During the third quarter of 2007/08, provisional figures showed that NHS dentists carried out 8.8 million Courses of Treatment and 19.2 million Units of Dental Activity.


The full report is at ic.nhs.uk/pubs/dentalstats0708q3


It is accompanied by an easy-to-use electronic factsheet that allows users to compare the results for any primary care trust (PCT) against averages for the parent SHA and for England as a whole.


Notes


1. The NHS Information Centre is England's authoritative, independent source of health and social care information. It works with more than 300 health and social care providers nationwide to provide the facts and figures that help the NHS and social services run effectively. Its role is to collect data, analyse it and convert it into useful information which helps providers improve their services and supports academics, researchers, regulators and policymakers in their work.


The NHS Information Centre also produces a wide range of statistical publications each year across a number of areas including: primary care, health and lifestyles, screening, hospital care, population and geography, social care and workforce and pay statistics.


2. The NHS Business Service Authority's Dental Services Division (DSD) is the source of data for this report. The NHS Information Centre has responsibility for analysing and publishing these data.


3. The report covers NHS dental work, much of which is undertaken by 'high street dentists', and does not cover private work carried out by dentists. It covers all activity (excluding orthodontic work) carried out in the third quarter of 2007/08; the second year of the new contractual arrangements for NHS dentists.


4. This report was originally intended to be published on 22 May, but was delayed until 5 June for technical reasons.


ic.nhs.uk