Dentists win clarity on 24-month appointment plans

The Oral Health Improvement Plan (OHIP) had cited NICE guidance that patients not considered to be “at risk of or from oral disease” may be extended over time up to an interval of 24 months.

Since OHIP was published in January 2018 the issue has been a source of deep concern among the profession. In a survey of dentists that featured in BDA Scotland’s recent Oral Cancer Action Plan 97 per cent of respondents said they were concerned this would undermine detection of oral cancers. 77 per cent identified it as a major or severe risk.

Dentists are often the first health professionals to detect oral cancers, which kill three times as many Scots as car accidents. In 2016 1,240 people in Scotland were diagnosed with the condition – nearly five cases every working day. While other cancers have seen marked improvements there has been a 37 per cent increase in oral cancer deaths in the last decade.