HEALTH SELECT COMMITTEE REPORT INTO NHS DENTAL SERVICES

That this House welcomes the Report of the Health Select Committee inquiry into NHS dental and orthodontic services, along with its conclusions and recommendations; expresses great concern that the new dental contract, introduced in April 2006, has failed to meet the Department of Health's own success criteria of improving access to NHS dentistry, or increasing the provision of preventative care; further welcomes recommendations that primary care trusts seek advice from dental public health consultants when commissioning services and adapt a more flexible approach to units of dental activity (UDAs), and that the Department of Health conducts a full review of the UDA system; and asks that the Department works with the dental profession to ensure evolutionary, incremental and piloted change in order to fulfil the contract's original objectives.