Scotland has a very poor record on oral health. Scottish children have some of the worst teeth in Europe and there are growing problems over access to NHS dental services in many parts of the country.
Measures to tackle these problems were launched in 2005 which will help tackle the poor oral health record, provide better access for patients, and provide an attractive package for dentistry professionals so that they opt to work with the NHS.
Improved oral health has important public health benefits and supports other national health improvement initiatives, in particular those relating to diet. A wide range of measures will promote oral health and prevent dental disease, particularly in children from birth through to the teenage years and better preventive services for older people and disadvantaged groups are also being developed.
Substantial changes to NHS dental services will help meet the expectations of patients and dental professionals. This means:
- steps to increase the dental workforce, not just dentists but all members of the team
- an increase in the numbers of graduates from Scotland's dental schools
- encouraging dentists to return to Scotland and recruit others from outside Scotland
- training more dental therapists who can provide a wide range of dental treatments
- independent contractor dentists who have been and continue to be committed to the NHS will be suitably rewarded through better support for their premises and IT.
- salaried services, particularly in areas where there are insufficient independent contractor dentists to meet demand
Around £295 million will be invested over the next three years, the vast majority of which will support primary care dental services. The overall investment means that centrally some £350 million will be spent by 2007-08, by comparison to the current £200 million.
Altogether, the NHS funding of primary care dental services will increase by £45 million in 2005-06, by £100 million in 2006-07 and by £150 million in 2007-08.