NHS Dental Statistics, Q1, 2008-09

In the first quarter of 2008/09:

Courses of Treatment

• There were provisionally 9.2 million Courses of Treatment (CoTs) carried out in England, an increase of 125,100 (1.4 per cent) on the final figure for the first quarter of 2007/08. Last year the final figure for the same quarter was 1.7 per cent higher than the provisional figure.
• Band 1 accounted for more than half of the CoTs carried out (53.9 per cent). Band 2 was the next most common treatment band accounting for 30.4 per cent, while 4.6 per cent of CoTs were within Band 3. The remaining 11.2 per cent of CoTs were for Urgent and Other (charge exempt) treatments.

Units of Dental Activity

• There were provisionally 19.5 million Units of Dental Activity (UDAs) carried out in England, an increase of 549,300 (2.9 per cent) on the final figure for the first quarter of 2007/08. Last year the final figure for the same quarter was 1.8 per cent higher than the provisional figure.
• UDAs within Band 2 accounted for 42.9 per cent of all UDAs. Band 3 treatments accounted for a further 25.9 per cent of all UDAs, and Band 1 accounted for 25.3 per cent. Of the remainder, Band 1 Urgent UDAs accounted for 4.9 per cent of the total and Other (charge exempt) UDAs accounted for 0.9 per cent. These figures contrast with the figures for CoTs where more than half were within Band 1, and reflect the fact that simpler treatments (such as Band 1) represent fewer UDAs.

Patients Seen

In the 24 month period ending 30 June 2008:

• 26.9 million patients were seen by an NHS dentist, equivalent to 52.7 per cent of the population. This is a decrease of 1.2 million (4.3 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.
• 19.3 million adults (aged 18 and over) were seen by an NHS dentist, equivalent to 48.3 per cent of the adult population. This is a decrease of 1.0 million (4.9 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.
• 7.6 million children were seen by an NHS dentist, equivalent to 69.0 per cent of the child population. This is a decrease of 209,800 (2.7 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.
• The percentage 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 population seen varied from 44.3 per cent in South Central SHA to 60.6 per cent in North East SHA.