NHS dental data monitoring report
November and December 2023

About this release

On 1 November 2023, the Scottish Government implemented an NHS dental payment reform. This release by Public Health Scotland (PHS) relates to the initial transitional period of payment changes. It covers data for November and December 2023 and provides an early overview of certain metrics of activity and spend since reform introduction.

REVISION 26 February 2024: Following a data quality review, we discovered an error in the population estimates used to calculate the percentage of patients registered. We have revised these figures and included notes on the relevant analysis that were affected by these revisions.

Main points

• 5,200,865 people were registered with an NHS dentist as at 31 December 2023 (94.9% of the Scottish population)
• 141,591 extensive clinical examinations were paid in December 2023 under the new pay arrangements
• Children and adults from the most deprived areas were less likely to have had contact with NHS primary dental care in December 2023 (10,023 compared to 12,645 for children and 34,187 compared to 41,428 adults)

Bar chart showing that the number of adults increased incrementally from SIMD quintile 1 (most deprived) to quintile 5 (least deprived). The number of children increased incrementally from SIMD quintile 2 to quintile 5. Quintile 2 was slightly lower than SIMD 1 (9586 compared to 10023).

Close

Number of patients who had contact with NHS Primary Dental Care; by SIMD quintile; December 2023; Scotland¹

Background

Dental claims are submitted by NHS dentists for activity monitoring or to claim payment for treatments and associated fees, such as orthodontic interim payments. Each claim may cover a single appointment or multiple appointments depending on the treatment provided. The Statement of Dental Remuneration (SDR) lists all the Items of Service (treatments and fees) that can be claimed.

On 1 November 2023, the Scottish Government implemented an NHS dental payment reform. As part of the reform, a new Determination I of the SDR was introduced.

The activity (treatments) data in this report is focused on the prospective picture and therefore only Items of Service using the new codes are reported. However, data on patient access covers all patient activity across the old and new payment arrangements. The financial data reflects the overall level of claims, including Item of Service payments made across the old and new payment arrangements. The Public Dental Service have separate contractual arrangements, and therefore their payments are excluded from this report.

Further information

The next release of this publication will be May 2024.