In the 24 month period ending December 31, 2014, the report shows that 30m people were seen by an NHS dentist. This is an increase of 1.9m compared with the March 2006 baseline. The amount of people seeing an NHS dentist has therefore increased from 55.6 per cent to 55.7 per cent. The number of children seen by an NHS dentist has risen by two per cent since March 2006; however, the percentage of children seen has actually lowered from 70.2 per cent to 69.1 per cent.
In the period covered by the report (the second quarter of 2014/15) there were an estimated 10m courses of treatment; this is an increase of approximately 0.3 per cent. Courses of treatment for Band 1 and Urgent have increased whilst there has been a decrease in Band 2, Band 3 and other treatments.
In all treatment bands except Band 3 paying adults were accountable for the biggest percentage. For Band 3 treatments the biggest percentage of patients was non-paying adults. The report suggests, in accordance with the Adult Dental Health Survey 2009, that the greater provision of complex treatments for this group may imply a lower standard of dental health among them.
For the whole report visit http://www.hscic.gov.uk/catalogue/PUB16873