Since the changes to all NHS dental contracts, which took place in 2006, NHS dental registration is no longer available. Patients may hold an account with our Dental Practice, but this does not entitle patients to continued NHS dental treatment with us.

 

School Road Dental Surgery are able to offer NHS appointments to patients that have attended for a dental examination within the last 3 years. This allows us to follow NHS NICE guidelines on recalls which says that “no more than 2 years should elapse between examinations” and an additional 1 year grace period due to COVID.

 

By working this way, we are ensuring that we maintain a supportable business model, which will hopefully allow us to continue to offer NHS dental care to our regular attenders and never be put in a position where this option may no longer be available due to a shortage in NHS funding.

 

NHS funding is provided annually on the basis that the practice achieves a specific activity target. Failure to hit this target may result in a withdrawal of funding. With this being said, we are also required to stay within the given target for our surgery and therefore must allow the NHS availability to be reserved predominantly for our regular attenders, then if the surgery has the capacity to take on new NHS patients throughout the year, we will open this in small phases, not allowing the practice to become overwhelmed with new NHS patients.