South West Dental Commissioning Team

Access to NHS dental service in Devon has historically been challenging, with demand exceeding the capacity available mainly due to insufficient workforce and the capacity of practices to take on new patients. NHS places continue to be made available however are unable to match the growing demand, largely due to challenges practices are experiencing in recruitment. Work is underway at a national level to identify solutions to the recruitment and retention pressures in NHS dental services, and to understand and address the constraints of the current national NHS dental contract mechanisms.