Bringing the curtain down on dentistry for 2014, Nigel Jones shares with readers some of the more noteworthy news from this year in relation to the New Contract and private dentistry.

Nigel Jones is part of the change support team for Practice Plan. With 24 years’ experience within the dental industry, he has guided many dentists through the 2006 NHS contract and continues to do so today; contact him for further advice and support on This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or visit www.practiceplan.co.uk/nhs.

With the knowledge that the New Contract pilots were to continue into 2015, this year the dental profession were keeping a keen eye out to see how they would progress.  In addition, there was a renewed interest in whether private dentistry might, for some, be a viable way forwards.

It was in February at the Dentistry Show that the first significant discussion of the year took place on the issue of the New Contract. This dialogue clarified that Professor Steele was committed to taking all the time needed to review the data available to produce an effective system that would focus on prevention rather than cure.

Also speaking at the event was oral epidemiologist Liz Kay, who emphasised the need to take into consideration the full oral health picture in the UK, not just to create a contract based upon the needs that could be ascertained from average figures. She asked delegates to consider the realities of dental practice where, for example, the majority of Baby Boomers – who grew up without preventive advice – would need dental treatment in the coming years.

In March it was reported that, for the first time in eight years, the profit level of the average private dental practice was almost the same as the average NHS dental practice, based on the latest benchmarking statistics from the National Association of Specialist Dental Accountants and Lawyers.

Figures showed that the average net profit in 2012/13 for a principal of a private practice was £124,086 compared to £125,958 for a principal of an NHS practice.

In April we also learned that after a difficult economic time, private dentistry is set to ‘bounce back’ and make the most of the opportunities offered by an industry currently valued to be worth £5.9bn every year, according to latest report into the UK dentistry market from LaingBuisson.

That same month, Lloyds Bank Commercial Banking Healthcare Confidence Index suggested that uncertainty over NHS dentistry was affecting dentists’ choices. It reported that 80% of those questioned were apprehensive that the NHS would provide adequate financial support. In addition, it was revealed that 69% of dentists are planning to grow their business to help overcome any possible financial pressures brought on by the NHS contract.

Commenting on the results, Ian Crompton, Head of Healthcare Banking Services, Lloyds Bank Commercial Banking, stated: ‘The wider economic uplift has boosted dentistry morale, with dentists again the most confident profession in the short-term, and it is interesting that there has been a noticeable shift in the number of dentists expecting private practice to again become more profitable than NHS.’

The summer months

At the 2014 Conference of Local Dental Committees in Manchester in June, John Milne, chair of the BDA’s GDPC, expressed disappointment at the slow progress being made with designing the prototypes for the New Contract and suggested that the government needed to get a move on.

In July, at the Westminster Health Forum seminar on oral health inequalities, dentistry commissioning, regulation, and the dental contract reform dentist Sabrena Kara spoke about her practice’s experience of taking part in the pilots. She offered a positive view on time management, which then allowed her to focus on delivering more complex dentistry to patients.

August saw a story in The Telegraph reporting: ‘Patients are having to travel up to 40 miles to see a dentist or being forced into private care because they struggling to find treatment locally, a consumer watchdog has warned.

‘Healthwatch England said that patients are experiencing ''increasing frustration'' about NHS dentistry as patients struggle to know where to turn.

‘Some are travelling up to 40 miles to find somewhere that will provide free care while others are so discouraged by their attempts to find a health service dentist that they end up paying for private treatment, it said.’

Dr Cockcroft responded: ‘Our figures tell us that 93% of people who tried to get an NHS dental appointment in the past two years were successful. Of the 6.5% who tried to get an NHS dental appointment at a practice that they had never attended before, 76% were successful.’

Drawing to a close

In October, the BDA’s GDPC came together to discuss the New Contract, welcoming the fact that Alternative Contract Reform (ACR) input had become part of the debate on contractual change. The case for change was described as ‘irresistible’ by the chair, Dr Milne, who continued: ‘We have an historic opportunity here to turn the page on activity targets and put prevention at the heart of dentistry. And the GDPC is determined to get it right on behalf of the profession.’

 Looking to 2015

Despite some disappointment surrounding the slow implementation of the New Contract, 2014 still managed to deliver interesting signposts for dentists looking to the future. Given the well-publicised financial pressure on the NHS, the Government's imperative will be to find a form of contract that will extract the best value it can from NHS dentists.  Come May 2015 and the results of the general election, the dentistry ball may well be up in the air once again. Whatever the outcome, this will mark a new beginning for dentists choosing between NHS and private dentistry to fulfil their commitment to looking after their patients while running a sustainable business.