Information on dental practices accepting national health service patients is not held centrally. However, information on the number of NHS dental practices and dentists in the North Dorset, South and East Dorset and South West Dorset Primary Care Trusts (PCT) in the 12-month period up to April 2006 is shown in the following table.
Primary care trust Total number of GDS and PDS dentists1 Number of dental practices North Dorset 40 13 South and East Dorset 70 29 South West Dorset 65 30 1 Data are extracted from NHS Dentist Statistics for England Quarter 3: 31 December 2006 report published by The Information Centre on 23 March 2007. Notes: 1. Dentists will be counted more than once if they have contracts in more than one PCT. 2. The areas have been defined using practice postcodes within the PCT. 3. Dentists consist of principals, assistants and trainees. Prison and emergency contracts are excluded. 4. A dentist with a contract may provide as little or as much NHS treatment as he or she chooses. Source: Business Services Authority The Information Centre for health and social care
Data on national health service dental practices accepting new NHS patients are not available centrally under the new contractual arrangements. However, data on the number of NHS dentists (performers) contracted to perform NHS dental work at primary care trust (PCT) level are available.
Data on the number of NHS dentists (performers) are available quarter ending 30 June, 30 September and 31 December 2006 at England, strategic health authority and PCT levels in section G of annex 3 of the NHS Dental Statistics for England Q3:31 December 2006 report published by The Information Centre for health and social care. This table also includes the population per NHS dentist.
This report has been placed in the Library and is also available at:
www.ic.nhs.uk/statistics-and-data-collections/primary-care/dentistry/nhs-dental-statistics-for-england-q3:-31-december-2006
Data for the quarter ending March 2007 will be published 19 June 2007.