Dental Services: Contracts
The question
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what progress has been made on implementing the NHS dental contract reforms announced in December 2025.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock
From April 2026, we began introducing the package of reforms announced in December to address some of the pressing issues that dentists and dental teams have been experiencing. These reforms will prioritise those with the greatest need, shifting care away from clinically unnecessary check-ups.
Regulations introducing the first phase of these reforms, including a new requirement for high street dentists to deliver a minimum amount of urgent care, came into force on 1 April. The remainder of the reforms, including the introduction of complex care pathways, will be implemented from end June 2026.
The changes introduced in April also support increased use of cost-effective, evidence-based prevention interventions for children through introducing a new standalone fluoride varnish treatment for delivery by dental nurses, and by increasing the remuneration associated with fissure sealant treatments, therefore reducing the opportunities for disease progression.
We are committed to further, fundamental reform of the National Health Service dental contract by the end of this Parliament.
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