Tom King

Beyond the UDA: Where NHS dentistry goes next GDPC Chair, Shiv Pabary, on what you need to know about the proposals developed by the GDPC following your feedback.

GDPC Chair Shiv Pabary lays out where NHS dental contract reform needs to go:

A blended contract that delivers a long-term preventative patient-dentist relationship, alongside a pathway of care for patients with high treatment needs

www.bda.org/news-and-opi...

Very constructive first meeting with @skinnock.bsky.social today at DHSC today.

Pleased to be on the same page.

I told the Minister we want to restore the pride dentists once had in this service.

Look forward to working together to rebuild a service millions depend on. @thebda.bsky.social

No future for NHS dentistry without reform, warns PAC, as Govt efforts fail to halt decline - Committees - UK Parliament Verdict delivered on dental contract as not fit for purpose as patients continue to suffer and PAC calls for transparency on necessary fundamental reform

Another damning report on the state of NHS dentistry.

This time the Public Accounts Committee says there is no future for the service without reform.

They are completely right.

Now we need Government to act.

committees.parliament.uk/committee/12...

And part 2…

"Dental care is health care."

Nick had a dental infection.

Unable to get an appointment, he ended up in intensive care.

We can't afford to go on like this.

A message for every patient, every politician & policymaker this #WorldOralHealthDay.

Economic and Data Analyst The British Dental Association is seeking an experienced analyst who wants to use their economic and data skills to drive policy change. Data-driven arguments, evidence-based policy and robust costing...

The British Dental Association is looking for an Economic & Data Analyst to join our Policy & Research Team.
We're looking for someone who wants to use their analytic skills to drive policy change.
bda.peoplehr.net/Pages/JobBoa...

"We take on the challenge from the British Dental Association that there is more to do."

A welcome tone from Wes Streeting.

NHS dentistry has been treated as a Cinderella Service.

That has to end.

We need a fair deal our members and the millions they treat.

Job opportunity: Economic and data analyst

We're looking to recruit an experienced analyst who wants to use their economic and data skills to drive policy change to join my team at the BDA.

Full details below ⤵️
www.w4mpjobs.org/JobDetails.a...

Want to work in a thinktank? But worried it's only for "usual suspects"?

Think again -- and sign up for webinar--this Weds 330-6pm--from @resfoundation.bsky.social & loads of other top tanks all looking for hidden talent

www.resolutionfoundation.org/events/worki...

🆕 Are NHS #dentists doing less NHS work?

With many people struggling to access #NHS dental care, Liz Fisher explores the concerning drop between 2018/19 and 2022/23 in the number of hours per week that an NHS dentist might be spending on NHS work.

👉 https://buff.ly/4ibDzn2

Good to see the Health Secretary pressed on role of reform and investment in #Newsnight. NHS dentistry is the prime example of where we need fundamental change, supported by increased funding, to turn the service around. Can’t have one without the other. Reform & investment must go hand in hand.

NHS dentistry has ceased to exist for millions.

A toxic mix of austerity and failed contracts has fuelled this crisis.

We now have health professionals delivering NHS care at a loss.

Why the Treasury is the No.1 barrier to saving this service.
👇
www.bda.org/news-and-opi...

English dentists ‘walking away’ from NHS work as fees fail to cover costs Exclusive: Surgeries having to ‘operate like a charity’ and subsidise NHS work by £332m a year, says BDA

Analysis from my team @thebda.bsky.social shows dentists and dental practices are subsidising loss-making NHS treatments to the tune of over £300m per year www.theguardian.com/society/2025...

The PM says "we're reforming the contract."

That "we're delivering 700,000 urgent appointments."

These were important pledges.

But there's been no real progress here.

These promises need to be kept. #PMQS

👉 www.bda.org/news-and-opi...

As we approach the new year, there is a lack of clarity on many key issues facing NHS dentistry.
Most importantly, practices still don't know what uplift in funding they are going to receive for 2024/25 - 9 months into the financial year.
www.bda.org/news-and-opi...

Re-evaluating the dental contract reform prototypes - BDJ In Practice BDJ In Practice - Re-evaluating the dental contract reform prototypes

NHS dentistry is in crisis. But attempts to reform it aren't new. 100 practices tried a different system throughout the 2010s. This is what we should learn from that experience as we try to reform NHS dentistry now:

www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Re-evaluating the dental contract reform prototypes - BDJ In Practice BDJ In Practice - Re-evaluating the dental contract reform prototypes

NHS dentistry is in crisis. But attempts to reform it aren't new. 100 practices tried a different system throughout the 2010s. This is what we should learn from that experience as we try to reform NHS dentistry now:

www.nature.com/articles/s41...

The positivity of those who worked for years under the prototype system is a commendation in itself when contrasted with how most dentists continue to feel about working within the current UDA system.

Our findings provide contrasts with the official evaluation, with dentists talking about delivering higher-quality prevention-focused dentistry

Re-evaluating the dental contract reform prototypes - BDJ In Practice BDJ In Practice - Re-evaluating the dental contract reform prototypes

My colleague Tim & I have written up our interviews with dentists involved in previous efforts to prototype NHS dental contract reform. Clear that there are lessons to be learned as we try to reform the contract again.

www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Good quality improvement principles for a lot of public services, not just railways: "Focus on what you want it to look like, for whom, where".

This may resonate with many #QISky healthcare /public health people too.

McFadden’s speech uses different language, but I hope it is talking about a very similar approach

Encouraging to hear "test and learn" language throughout. Recognition that rewiring of the state won't happen from top down. This will come from small scale, place-based innovation.

Most interesting person I’ve heard talk on this subject is former Scottish CMO Harry Burns, in the context of public health improvement, he makes the case for just letting the frontline “proceed until apprehended” in pursuit of agreed outcomes

And dentistry doesn't even have a formalised weighting list. Huge unmet need for NHS dental care out there, and the existing "Recovery Plan" has been deemed not up to the task of sorting things out by NAO, among others.

The overwhelming majority of NHS dental care is delivered in primary care, including complex surgical procedures. But yet no focus in this plan on how we give access to the 13m adult patients who currently can't access an NHS dentist.

Disappointing that, despite the very laudable talk of a shift from secondary to primary care, the Government's NHS objective is focused on hospital waiting lists. We're never going to get that transformational shift by continuing a narrow focus on measuring hospital performance.

Patients want a continuing care relationship with a dentist. That is what dentists want their contract to support them to do, because they know it is best for a long-term preventive approach to dental care.

Another important nugget from this report:

The spend on primary care NHS dentistry has been cut by £555m in real terms between 2019-20 and 2023-24