Dental investment plan to target areas of greatest need

Communities in Derbyshire that have the greatest need of help from NHS dentists are being targeted for support under a new plan.

Areas such as Bolsover and Amber Valley have higher levels of tooth decay and poor oral health compared to other parts of the county, but there are also fewer NHS dentists there.

NHS Derby and Derbyshire has now agreed priorities for 2025-28 to tackle the local dentistry crisis by measures including:

  • boosting payments for NHS dentistry work in target areas
  • “golden hello” payments for four full-time equivalent dentists who commit to working in the NHS for three years
  • allowing dentists to use 110% of budget allocations, so they can see more patients
  • flexible schemes to allow dentists to use their NHS funding to see priority patients
  • additional funding for children and vulnerable patients to access a dentist
  • funding more urgent and routine dental treatment sessions in Bolsover – the area that has some of the worst levels of decay and access in the county
  • commissioning new dental services in areas that are underserved
  • recommissioning of contracts in the areas of greatest need, including Bolsover, areas of deprivation and rural areas where access is poor
  • commissioning new services, including providing minor oral surgery services, dental care for people who are housebound, and interpreter support
  • regularly refreshing research and intelligence about areas of need and gaps in NHS provision

The plan is due to be discussed with communities and stakeholders at the 25 June “Derbyshire Dialogue” – an online engagement event.

Clive Newman, director of primary care at NHS Derby and Derbyshire, said: “Our three year plan aims to address the real problems that are caused by poor oral health and inability to see an NHS dentist.

“We know that access to an NHS dentist and ability to pay for treatment is also a cause of health inequalities.

“People in Bolsover, for example, have worse access to a dentist and have worse oral health than those in other more affluent parts of the county.

“We will focus our efforts on the areas where need is the greatest so people can get the care they need.

“We have made good progress already in the 2024/25 financial year and we are now implementing the detail of our 2025/26 plan.

“We want to hear from people about their experiences of using a local NHS dentist and what their priorities are. Anyone can join the Derbyshire Dialogue, so please book on and join the discussion.”

The dental plan has already begun to make a positive difference.

  • in 2024/25 local dentists completed 4.1% more “units” of dental activity than the previous year, up from 1.333m to 1.359m “units” (units measure dental work such as checks, fillings and crowns)
  • dentists in Amber Valley have been supported to enable them to continue to take NHS patients
  • 14,000 urgent appointments have been arranged out of Derby and Derbyshire’s target of 16,298, which is part of the government’s initiative to provide 700,000 more appointments nationally

Rami Khatib is chair of Derbyshire County Local Dental Committee and a dentist in Chesterfield.

He said: “NHS dentistry continues to face significant challenges nationally and locally.

“However, as a community of practitioners, we continue to engage with partners, including the ICB, to provide our input into the local plan to improve access and provision in Derbyshire.

“We continue to support the training of all members of the dental team and develop our workforce so we can better meet the needs of local people, and we will continue to work with the ICB and health authority to improve oral health over the coming years.”

Jenny Oliver, dental public health consultant for Derby and Derbyshire, added: “We know from our oral health needs assessment for Derby and Derbyshire what the area’s needs are and where to target our resources.

“Poor oral health is strongly associated with deprivation and it is also the case that deprived groups are receiving less NHS dental care than more affluent groups.

“For example we know that 19 per cent of five-year-old children in Derby and Derbyshire have experience of tooth decay, and that these children have between 3 and 4 decayed teeth each, on average.

“In Bolsover the figure is 17 per cent, in Derby it is 27 per cent, while in the Derbyshire Dales is 12 per cent.

“When combined with other initiatives aimed at preventing tooth decay, such as supervised teeth brushing and improved diet, we hope this strategy will lead to an improvement in people’s dental health in Derbyshire.”

To take part in the Derbyshire Dialogue event, please sign up on the Derbyshire Involvement website.