NHS Dental Statistics for England, Quarter 3, 31 December 2008

Courses of Treatment

• in the third quarter of 2008/09, there were provisionally 9.2 million Courses of Treatment (CoTs) delivered in England, an increase of 0.3 million (3.0 per cent) on the final figure for the third quarter of 2007/08
• in the first three quarters of 2008/09, there were provisionally 27.7 million CoTs delivered in England, an increase of 0.8 million (3.1 per cent) on the final figure for the first three quarters of 2007/08
• in the first three quarters of 2008/09, Band 1 CoTs accounted for more than half of all CoTs delivered (53.2 per cent). Band 2 CoTs were the next most common, accounting for 30.4 per cent, whilst Band 3 CoTs made up 4.8 per cent. The remaining 11.5 per cent of CoTs were for Urgent and Other (charge exempt) treatments
• in the first three quarters of 2008/09, the proportion of Band 1 CoTs decreased by 0.6 percentage points compared with the first three quarters of 2007/08. The proportion of Band 2 and Band 3 CoTs increased by 0.1 and 0.2 percentage points respectively. Urgent CoTs increased by 0.3 percentage points whilst there was no change in the proportion of Other (charge exempt) CoTs
• in the first three quarters of 2008/09 the provisional number of CoTs delivered increased from the final number delivered in the first three quarters of 2007/08 across all Strategic Health Authorities (SHAs). South West SHA showed the largest percentage increase (4.0 per cent) whilst North East SHA showed the smallest (1.8 per cent).

Units of Dental Activity

• in the third quarter of 2008/09, there were provisionally 20.2 million Units of Dental Activity (UDAs) delivered in England, an increase of 0.9 million (4.5 per cent) on the final figure for the third quarter of 2007/08
• in the first three quarters of 2008/09, there were provisionally 59.7 million UDAs delivered in England, an increase of 2.5 million (4.4 per cent) on the final figure for the first three quarters of 2007/08
• in the first three quarters of 2008/09, UDAs accounted for by Band 2 treatments (Band 2 UDAs) accounted for 42.4 per cent of all UDAs. Band 3 UDAs accounted for a further 27.0 per cent of all UDAs, and Band 1 UDAs accounted for 24.7 per cent. Of the remainder, Urgent UDAs accounted for 5.0 per cent of the total and Other (charge exempt) UDAs accounted for 0.9 per cent. These figures contrast with the proportions for CoTs where more than half were within Band 1, and reflect the fact that simpler treatments (such as Band 1) represent fewer UDAs
• in the first three quarters of 2008/09, Band 1 UDAs decreased by 0.6 percentage points compared with the first three quarters of 2007/08. The corresponding change in Band 2 UDAs was a 0.4 percentage point decrease. The proportion of Band 3 and Urgent UDAs increased by 0.9 and 0.1 percentage points respectively, whilst there was no change in the proportion of Other (charge exempt) UDAs
• in the first three quarters of 2008/09 the provisional number of UDAs delivered increased from the final number delivered in the first three quarters of 2007/08 across all Strategic Health Authorities (SHAs). South West SHA showed the largest percentage increase (5.8 per cent) whilst North East SHA showed the smallest (2.3 per cent).

Patients Seen

In the 24 month period ending 31 December 2008:

• 27.3 million patients were seen by an NHS dentist, equivalent to 53.4 per cent of the population. This is a decrease of 0.9 million (3.1 per cent) on the 28.1 million patients seen in the 24 month period ending 31 March 2006, equivalent to 55.8 per cent of the population at that time. However, this is an increase of 0.2 million (0.9 per cent) on the 27.0 million patients seen in the previous 24 month period ending 30 September 2008, equivalent to 52.9 per cent of the population at that time. This is the second consecutive period that this measure has increased
• the proportion of the population that were seen by an NHS dentist in the 24 month period ending 31 December 2008 increased by 0.5 percentage points from the previous 24 month period ending 30 September 2008. This is the second consecutive period that this measure has increased
• 19.7 million adults (aged 18 and over) were seen, equivalent to 49.0 per cent of the adult population. This is a decrease of 0.7 million (3.4 per cent) on the 20.3 million adults seen in the 24 month period ending 31 March 2006, equivalent to 51.6 per cent of the adult population at that time. However, this is an increase of 0.2 million (1.1 per cent) on the 19.4 million adults seen in the previous 24 month period ending 30 September 2008, equivalent to 48.5 per cent of the adult population at that time. This is the second consecutive period that this measure has increased
• 7.6 million children (aged under 18) were seen, equivalent to 69.2 per cent of the child population. This is a decrease of 0.2 million (2.4 per cent) on the 7.8 million children seen in the 24 month period ending 31 March 2006, equivalent to 70.7 per cent of the child population at the time. However, this is an increase of 18,000 (0.2 per cent) on the number seen in the previous 24 month period ending 30 September 2008, equivalent to 69.1 per cent of the child population at that time. This is the second consecutive period that this measure has increased
• the proportion of the population that had seen an NHS dentist varied between Strategic Health Authorities (SHAs), with a higher percentage of patients seen in northern SHAs than southern SHAs. The percentage of the population seen varied from 60.9 per cent in North East SHA to 44.9 per cent in South Central SHA
• the number of patients seen increased from the 24 month period ending 30 September 2008 across all SHAs. The percentage increase varied by SHA, from a 1.1 per cent increase in South East Coast SHA to an increase of 0.5 per cent in North East SHA.