This is the first in a series of blogs/articles for syndication by Dental Practice journal and www.2020Dentistry.com. It is part of a concerted effort to reach the dental community for their input to a conversation about proposed changes to dental care. For easier access and amplification of this conversation, we are integrating the contents with Twitter, LinkedIn and You Tube.

The profession has long been waiting for more concrete proposals for the shape of the new dental contract and details about the prototypes that should be replacing the current pilots have now been released by the Department of Health. The full text can be found here:

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/395384/Reform_Document.pdf

The first prototypes will be set at the end of 2015 and if they are successful,  more may be added in 2017/18 and 2018/19, which is said to be the “earliest date at which a reformed contract could become a ‘main stream’ approach.” The time scale is more than adequate for the profession to have a conversation around the subject which, if it is listened to, will lead to a few models (templates) for a fair and sustainable dental contract.

The prototypes are described as using a “blended” system, with the practice’s NHS contract value split between capitation and activity, and the much discussed “clinical pathway” will underpin the design of the prototypes. They will also include a dental quality and outcomes framework (DQOF), which will account for 10% of the practice remuneration. But it is in the area of the remaining 90% of remuneration that major changes will come.

This blog is focused on the new treatment band 1A, which is now dedicated to purely preventative care. This is important news for therapists and hygienists. It also offers important potential for practices with the appropriate skills mix for direct access contracts. How this might affect the income of those evolving skills mixes found in corporate, privately owned and NHS salaried dentists practices is an important conversation the dental community must surely have.