Today, Tuesday 16 December, the Minister of State for Care Stephen Kinnock MP announced the changes to the dental contract to be implemented from April 2026.
The changes to the contract include:
- A continued focus on urgent dental care with payments increased from 1.2 UDAs to a national rate of £75
- Enhanced payments and pathways for patients with high needs, through a standardised payment package
- Support for more supervised toothbrushing schemes
- Increased payments for fissure sealants
- Support for members of the dental team through annual appraisals, learning and development, in addition to government funding to support sick leave and guidance on NHS contractual terms and benefits.
These changes are announced following the Government consultation run over the summer, and represent the most substantial changes to the NHS dental contract since 2006.
The Government’s full press release is available on their website. The full response to the consultation run over the summer which received over 2,289 responses, is available on the Government website.
The British Dental Association response is available on their website.
Guidance for commissioners is also planned which we will make available through our website when it is published.
The consultation response document reiterates the Government’s intention to deliver fundamental contract reform before the end of this Parliament. The LDC Confederation will continue to work with the Department of Health and Social Care on ensuring that any further changes to the contract work for dentists and patients.
