The Clinical standard: oral health and dental care for children and young people has been updated (22 June 2026). It replaces the NHS England clinical standard for paediatric dentistry published in 2018.
This clinical standard provides an updated structured model of oral healthcare for children and young people.
It defines national expectations for assessing complexity, allocating care, referral and triage, anxiety management, sedation and general anaesthetic pathways, safeguarding, governance, and the leadership role of paediatric managed clinical networks.
The Standard is available on the NHS England Website.
