A report published by NHS Digital today (August 27) shows the number of patients seen by NHS dentists within recommended timeframes, up to June 2020. This includes the period when dentists were closed for routine care due to coronavirus (COVID-19).

NHS Dental Statistics, England: 2019-201 contains information about dental activity2 including patients treated by NHS dentists and the number of patients seen within the maximum recommended gap between appointments.

Dental practices were instructed to close for routine care and provide only urgent treatment from March 25 to June 8 as part of restrictions to reduce the risk of coronavirus (COVID-19) transmission3.

According to analysis in this publication, 21.01m adult patients were seen for NHS dental treatment in the 24 months to the end of June 20204, representing 47.7% of the population. This is a reduction of 876,000 adults compared to the 24 months to the end of February , when 21.89m adults or 49.7% of the population were seen.

For child patients, 6.30m were seen in the 12 months6 to the end of June 2020, representing 52.7% of the population. This is a reduction of 758,000 children compared to the 12 months to February 2020, when 7.06m or 59.0% of children were seen.

In 2019-20, 38.38m courses of treatment7 were completed by NHS dentists. This is compared to 39.72m in 2018-19, a drop of 3.36%. Examinations were the most commonly carried out treatments for both adults and children, while the second most common treatments were scale and polish for adults and fluoride varnish for children.

Charges to patients for NHS dental treatment8 totalled £854.44m in 2019-20, compared to £854.58m in 2018-19.

For the second consecutive year, more than half of dentists were female – 51.3%, compared to 48.7% who were male.