The NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA) has published the NHS Dental Statistics England 2023/24 annual report.

The publication covers NHS dental activity and the NHS dental workforce in England from 2019/20 to 2023/24. This release is the first in this series by the NHSBSA, following the transition from NHS England, who previously published the report.

Key findings show that 34m courses of dental treatment were delivered in 2023/24, 4.3 per cent more than 2022/23. The total units of dental activity increased by 3.4 per cent from 2022/23, up to 73m.

There were 18m adult patients seen in the 24-month period up to the end of March 2024, and 6.7 million child patients seen in the 12-month period up to the same date.

Courses of treatment (COT) increased for adult and child patients between 2022/23 and 2023/24. COTs for adult patients increased by 2.2 per cent to 23m and by 9.0 per cent for child patients to 11.2m. Of those, 56.2 per cent of courses of treatment for children included fluoride varnish clinical treatment.

The total number of units of dental activity (UDA) awarded to dental activity claims was 72.5m in 2023/24. The total number of UDAs has increased by 3.4 per cent since 2022/23. It is 9.1 per cent lower than the 79.7m total UDAs in 2019/20.

In 2023/24, the total patient revenue was £774m, a 2.7 per cent increase from £754m during the previous year. The amount charged to patients is a set payment, based on the treatment band.

There were 24,300 dentists who performed NHS dental activity in 2023/24, a slight increase of 0.4 per cent compared to 2022/23. Since 2019/20, the number of dentists with NHS activity has fallen by 1.5 per cent from 24,700.

For more information visit Dental statistics – England 2023/24 | NHSBSA

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