Certainty in NHS dentistry no longer exists

Online, September 14, 2010 (Newswire.com) - "In the world of NHS dentistry, certainty is one thing that simply does not exist in current times" says Quentin Skinner, chairman of DPAS Dental Plans in an article for dentistry.co.uk.

He states that it seems unclear whether UDA's will be replaced by the new government. A UDA is a "Unit of Dental Activity". How many UDA's each dental procedure equates to depends on the type of work undertaken. Each NHS dentist is contracted by the Primary Care Trust (PCT) to do a set number of UDA's and they have to be within 4% of their targets to avoid being financially penalised.

Even the PCT itself looks set to go, but it is unclear what will replace it. This uncertainty is of concern for Quentin and other dental professionals.

The NHS is under strain in the economic climate and the strain is going to get worse with people being able to live longer with medication even though they have chronic conditions. New technologies and drugs also put a cost strain on the NHS, even though in the long run they will improve treatment.

The expectations of choice from the public put additional strains on the NHS and the expectation as everyone gets older is that the NHS will still be able to look after them.
"So, the upshot of all of this is that anything other than a significant year-on-year real terms increase will feel like a significant cut in the funding of the NHS, and this feeling is clearly the prevailing atmosphere within this whole sector," says Quentin.

NHS dentists were supposed to be available to all, but there is a perception that getting your own NHS dentist is a postcode lottery.
Things are set to change for those that rely on income from NHS dentistry. Already UDA values can be paid differently for the same treatments in the same PCT - sometimes the difference is two and a half times. Those with high UDA values can expect them to go down, but those with low UDA values shouldn't expect a rise.

Leaving the decisions on how to move your dental practise forward should not be left too late. With NHS funding uncertain, you would be wise to look towards private dental plans to find that funding certainty.