Government launches consultation on proposed changes to dental contract
The consultation contains a package of proposed changes that aim to improve the current NHS dental contract. Through these proposed reforms, the Government plans to secure its commitment of 700,000 more urgent dental care appointments every year, better support patients with complex treatment needs and encourage the delivery of more preventative care.
There is a section in the survey with questions specific to patients.
Responses must be completed by 19 August 2025.
The Enfield and Haringey Local Dental Committee (EHLDC) is a statutory NHS body representing general dental practitioners. They reacted to the government's proposals:
Alongside the proposed changes, there will be no new money at all, and without new money, NHS practices will continue to struggle to survive and to see patients. There would be a little welcome support for practices, but it would be at some cost of access for patients. Emergency treatment may be easier to find, but it would likely be at the expense of access to routine treatment.
Some basic pointers to tooth care from your Local Dental Committee
Brushing
- Put a pea-sized amount of fluoride toothpaste on a dry toothbrush - no water - and brush for two minutes.
- Spit out the toothpaste, but do not rinse.
- Do not eat or drink for half an hour after brushing.
The reason for these instructions is that by following them, a little toothpaste remains on the teeth for long enough to very greatly improve its effectiveness against decay.
Diet
- Fizzy drinks should be avoided as much as possible, as they are not just sugary but also acidic, so as well as causing decay, they permanently remove the enamel of your teeth. Even sugar-free fizzy drinks, and sparkling water, wear away your teeth.
- It is more important to reduce the number of times during the day that you have sugary things, than to reduce the amount of sugar you have, because every time you have anything sugary, you get an hour's worth of tooth decay. So five sweets in one go gives an hour of decay, but one sweet every hour for five hours gives non-stop decay.
- If you chew sugar-free gum immediately after having something sugary, it reduces the amount of damage caused by decay.
