NHS Dental Statistics, 2007-08, annual report

Activity

• 36.0 million Courses of Treatment (CoTs) were carried out in 2007/08, an increase of 937,000 (2.7 per cent) on the previous year.
• 77.0 million Units of Dental Activity (UDAs) were carried out in 2007/08, an increase of 3.3 million (4.5 per cent) on the previous year.
• more than half (53.6 per cent) of CoTs carried out in 2007/08 were within Band 1, compared with 54.2 per cent in 2006/07. Band 2 treatment accounted for 30.5 per cent of total CoTs in both years, whilst the percentage of total CoTs represented by Band 3 treatments increased by 0.3 percentage points, from 4.4 per cent in 2006/07 to 4.7 per cent in 2007/08. The remaining 11.2 per cent of CoTs were for urgent and other (charge exempt) treatments.
• the proportion of CoTs by treatment band varied by Strategic Health Authority (SHA). London had the lowest proportion of CoTs carried out in Band 1 (44.1 per cent) but the highest proportion in Bands 2 and 3 (35.8 per cent and 7.9 per cent respectively). East Midlands and South Central had the highest proportion of Band 1 treatments (each 57.6 per cent).
• the treatment band with the highest proportion of UDAs was Band 2 in both 2006/07 and 2007/08, although this proportion decreased by 0.7 percentage points from 43.5 per cent to 42.8 per cent. Band 1 accounted for 25.0 per cent of UDAs carried out in 2007/08, compared with 25.8 per cent in 2006/07. The percentage of UDAs represented by Band 3 treatments increased by 1.4 percentage points, from 24.9 per cent to 26.3 per cent. The remaining 5.8 per cent of UDAs in 2007/08 were for urgent and other (charge exempt) treatments.
• while more UDAs were undertaken by all SHAs in the second year of the new dental contract system, 18 PCTs (11.8 per cent of all PCTs) recorded fewer. At a PCT level, the largest percentage increase was 28.3 per cent whilst the largest percentage decrease was 4.4 per cent. PCT level information are contained within the annexes and the factsheet (annex 2).

Patients Seen

• 27.0 million patients had seen an NHS dentist in the 24 month period ending 31 March 2008. This represents a decrease of 1.1 million (3.9 per cent) on the 28.1 million patients seen in the 24 months ending 31 March 2006, and a decrease of 1.0 million (3.7 per cent) on the 28.1 million patients seen in the 24 months ending 31 March 2007.
• 53.3 per cent of the population were seen in the 24 month period ending 31 March 2008. This represents a decrease of 2.5 percentage points on the 55.8 per cent of the population seen in the 24 months ending 31 March 2006, and a decrease of 2.1 percentage points on the 55.4 per cent of the population seen in the 24 months ending 31 March 2007.
• 19.4 million adults were seen in the 24 month period ending 31 March 2008. This represents a decrease of 913,000 adults (4.5 per cent) on the 20.3 million adults seen in the 24 months ending 31 March 2006, and a decrease of 850,000 (4.2 per cent) on the 20.3 million patients seen in the 24 months ending 31 March 2007.
• 48.9 per cent of the adult population were seen in the 24 month period ending 31 March 2008. This represents a decrease of 2.7 percentage points on the 51.6 per cent of the population seen in the 24 months ending 31 March 2006, and a decrease of 2.1 percentage points on the 51.0 per cent of the population seen in the 24 months ending 31 March 2007.
• 7.6 million children were seen in the 24 month period ending 31 March 2008. This represents a decrease of 182,000 (2.3 per cent) on the 7.8 million children seen in the 24 months ending 31 March 2006, and a decrease of 198,000 (2.5 per cent) on the 7.8 million children seen in the 24 months ending 31 March 2007.
• the proportion of the child population seen in the 24 month period ending 31 March 2008 was 69.2 per cent. This represents a decrease of 1.4 percentage points on the 70.7 per cent seen in the 24 months ending 31 March 2006, and a decrease of 1.8 percentage points on the 71.0 per cent seen in the 24 months ending 31 March 2007.
• the Dental Services Division (DSD) of the BSA has recently issued PCT level patients seen information for management information purposes. PCTs have recently raised some issues which suggest that the way in which patients are allocated to PCTs across the various quarters needs to be reviewed. This means that sub-national information on patients seen has not been published in this report. The DSD has confirmed that this issue could only have a minimal impact on the national figures. They have therefore been labelled as provisional pending the review. Further information on this review will be available in due course.

Patient charges

• £531.4 million was calculated as patient charge revenue for treatments completed in 2007/08, an increase of £56.0 million (11.8 per cent) on the previous year.
• of CoTs within chargeable bands, charge paying adults accounted for 17.5 million CoTs in 2007/08 (50.0 per cent). Children, exempt from charges, accounted for a further 10.1 million CoTs (28.9 per cent). Adults exempt or remitted from charges accounted for 7.4 million CoTs (21.1 per cent).
• Band 3 was the only treatment band where more CoTs were delivered to non-paying adults than to paying adults.
• Band 2 accounted for the highest proportion of UDAs delivered to paying adults and children (42.5 per cent and 53.3 per cent respectively). Among non-paying adults, Band 3 accounted for the highest proportion of UDAs at 45.3 per cent.
• the proportion of chargeable CoTs accounted for by charge paying adults ranged from 54.0 per cent in East of England SHA to 40.0 per cent in London SHA.

Workforce

• further to a recent consultation exercise, the workforce figures presented in the report are based on a new definition. This consultation arose due to problems with the way in which dentists were counted in 2006/07, the first year of the new dental contract system - this measure counted all performers listed on NHS contracts that were open on 30 September. It was considered that this measure may not be the most reliable method to count the number of dentists due to concerns in the way in which the source data about performers is recorded by Primary Care Trusts (PCTs)/Local Health Boards (LHBs).
• the new measure now counts the number of dental performers who have any NHS activity recorded against them via FP17 claim forms at any time in the year that met the criteria for inclusion within the annual reconciliation process. This report also considers those who worked in 2006/07 and not in 2007/08, and vice versa.
• we have included figures for 2006/07 and 2007/08. As a result of technical issues raised as part of the consultation exercise, it will be necessary to undertake further work to determine whether consistent figures can be produced for the contract system which was in place before 2006/07.
• in 2007/08, 20,815 dentists had NHS activity recorded via FP17 claim forms. This is an increase of 655 (3.2 per cent) on 2006/07, the first year of the new dental contract system.
• the number of dentists has increased because the number of dentists that joined the NHS in 2007/08 (had NHS activity in 2007/08 but none in 2006/07) was 1,709, which is higher than the 1,054 dentists that left the NHS in 2006/07 (had NHS activity in 2006/07 but none in 2007/08).
• the number of dentists for all contract types increased between 2006/07 and 2007/08. There is a wide variation in contract type by SHA. In 2007/08, 79.2 per cent of dentists in London SHA were working on GDS contracts (but not PDS), whereas 53.9 per cent of dentists in Yorkshire and the Humber SHA were on PDS contracts (but not GDS).
• in 2007/08, 7,286 (35 per cent) were Providing Performers, dentists who have a direct contractual relationship with the PCT. This is 3.9 per cent less than in 2006/07. The other 13,529 (65 per cent) were Performers Only, a 7.6 per cent increase on 2006/07.
• between 2006/07 and 2007/08 female dentists increased by 6.7 per cent, whilst male dentists only increased by 1.0 per cent over the same period. In 2007/08 the proportion of female dentists had risen to 40.1 per cent from 38.8 per cent in 2006/07.
• the proportion of dentists by age group for 2006/07 and 2007/08 was similar, with dentists aged under 35 years accounting for the largest proportion of dentists at 35.0 per cent in 2006/07 and 35.7 per cent in 2007/08. In both years, dentists aged 35-44 accounted for the second highest proportion of dentists. Dentists aged 55 and over accounted for approximately 13 per cent of all dentists in both years.
• dentists aged under 35 years accounted for the second highest percentage increase (5.3 per cent) in the number of dentists, but the highest increase in terms of number of dentists (373). The number of dentists aged under 35 years that left the NHS in 2006/07 was 401, whilst the number that joined the NHS in 2007/08 was 1,315.
• female dentists aged under 35 increased by a greater number than any other age/gender cohort. There was an increase of 285 among this cohort, from 3,656 in 2006/07 to 3,941 in 2007/08.
• the number of dentists has increased in every SHA between 2006/07 and 2007/08. The increase varied from 2.2 per cent in East of England SHA to 8.1 per cent in East Midlands SHA.
• in England, the population per dentist has decreased between 2006/07 and 2007/08 decreasing from 2,518 to 2,439. This decrease was seen in every SHA. The SHA with the highest decrease was East Midlands SHA, decreasing by 204, from 2,711 to 2,507.
• the number of dentists per 100,000 population has increased between 2006/07 to 2007/08 from 40 to 41. The number of dentists per 100,000 population increased in every SHA. North East SHA, East Midlands SHA, and South East Coast SHA all showed the highest increase, all increasing by 3 dentists per 100,000 population.
• detailed data at PCT and SHA level are included in Annex 3 of this report. Furthermore, a factsheet tool is available (see Annex 2), which provides all the detailed information in Annex 3 at the required PCT or SHA level.