Recommendation 27

DHSC told us that even with these uplifts to UDA rates, there is still a large gap between what dentists are earning through NHS work compared with the larger amounts they can make in the private sector.80 It described this as the “fundamental problem” facing NHS dentistry and commented that it was perfectly reasonable for dentists to choose to go down private routes 75 C&AG’s Report, Figure 1 76 FND0007, see page 3 77 Q 26 78 C&AG’s Report, Figure 11 and para 2.10 79 Q 26 80 Q 13 17 given the greater financial incentives that exist.81 It said that whilst there is plenty that can be done in terms of the detail of the dental contract, the biggest barrier remains the gap in pay that is available for a NHS dentist versus one operating privately.82 This tallies with much of the written evidence that we received, with stakeholders from across the dental profession noting the disparity between pay in the NHS compared with the private sector, and arguing that such disparities are leading to the under provision of NHS dental care.83