Dataset Description

As part of the joint plan by NHS England and the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) to recover and reform NHS dentistry, a New Patient Premium (NPP) was introduced on 1 March 2024.

This dataset provides detailed information on the NPP at Integrated Care Board (ICB) level. The dataset is being published to provide insight into the outcomes of the NPP, which is a key part of the Dental Recovery Plan aimed at restoring and improving access to Primary Care Dentistry in England following the disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. It is intended to support stakeholders in evaluating the implementation and effectiveness of the NPP initiative as part of the Dental Recovery Plan.

The dataset includes the number of Units of Dental Activity (UDAs are a measure of the amount of work done during dental treatment) awarded specifically for NPP and a breakdown of adults and children receiving either a Band 1, 2, or 3 course of treatment.

The data was updated on 20th February 2025, to remove those patients seen under the NPP scheme which did not attract UDA. These total 8,385 patients over the period March to October 2024 (approximately 0.3 percent). An additional column was also added which shows the total cost associated with the NPP scheme. This was based on the values of £15 per Band 1, and £50 per Band 2 or 3 FP17.

More information on the NPP can be found in the ‘Guidance on dental contract management arrangements for 2023/24 year-end reconciliation’ published by NHS England.

Further information on the Dental Recovery Plan is available on NHS England’s website at the following link:
NHS England » Faster, simpler and fairer: our plan to recover and reform NHS dentistry

The dataset can be used to:

• monitor progress and assess delivery of NPP across ICBs
• support evaluation of outcomes to determine if the initiative is meeting its goals
• provide evidence for policy makers, commissioners, and local healthcare teams to support decision making
• enable transparency in tracking delivery of dental activity under the NPP initiative, allowing public accountability

The Dental System Reform – New Patient Premium Statement of voluntary application of the Code of Practice for Statistics document (Word:26KB) provides a comprehensive overview of the NHSBSA's voluntary application of the Code of Practice for Statistics to the New Patient Premium data set, detailing the measures taken to ensure trustworthiness, quality, and value in the publication and use of this data.

Data Source

This data is sourced from Compass (Compass went live in February 2016 and is the system that commissioners, providers and performers need to use to access and administer their relevant NHS Dental Services information).

Data Collection

The data is based on FP17 (https://www.nhsbsa.nhs.uk/activity-payment-and-pension-services/dental-activity-processing) submissions where the date of acceptance was between 1st March 2024 and the scheme end date.

Time Period

Data will be published for activity between March 2024 and the end of the scheme.

Data for the preceding twelve months (March 2023 to February 2024) is also provided. It shows the number of patients who would have been considered eligible for NPP during this period, based on the same ruleset.

Geography

ICB - England.

Caveats

This data differs from the English Contractor Monthly General Dental Activity data also published on our Open Data Portal.

Adult/Child Patients are defined based on the patients age at the date of acceptance. An adult is defined as a patient aged 18 or over at the date of acceptance, a child aged under 18.

The Units of Dental Activity (UDA) for the month are attributed to the FP17s for the treatment provided. Please note that this excludes the UDA from Foundation Dentists.

The NPP data set includes data for FP17s that are submitted or amended for an additional period of time from when the activity is carried out. For example, activity for treatment carried out in May 2024 (known as the treatment month) could have the associated FP17 submitted by the performer between 1 May 2024 and 6 August 2024 (known as the schedule month or date).

The Monthly General Dental Activity includes data for the relevant treatment month (May 2024) for FP17s submitted between 1 May 2024 and 24 July 2024.

Data is only included for dental contracts that have been indicated as eligible for NPP by commissioners.

FP17s can be submitted or amended for treatment months after they have originally been reported. This can impact final figures if data is reproduced in the future. Therefore, data is produced after the time period that performers are due to submit their activity on the 7th of the third month after the activity occurred. However, some small differences may still occur.

Baseline data

Data for the preceding twelve months (March 2023 to February 2024) is also provided as a baseline. It shows the number of patients who would have been considered eligible for NPP during this period, based on the same ruleset.

This ruleset has been manually applied to historic data by the NHSBSA. The status of contracts eligible for NPP can change across the time-period. Therefore, the baseline is based on contracts that were indicated as eligible for NPP in August 2024.

We do not advise directly comparing the baseline data with the NPP figures for March, April, and May 2024. This is because patients who started treatment before 1st March 2024 but finished within these 3 months are not included in the published numbers. These total 88,432 in March, 33,923 in April, and 13,473 in May. The adjusted numbers are included in the chart below:

In addition, data for the twelve months April 2019 to March 2020 is also provided as a baseline. This shows the number of patients who would have been considered eligible for NPP during this period, based on the same ruleset.

Citation

NHS Business Services Authority. "Dental New Patient Premium" NHS Business Services Authority Open Data. Accessed [Date Accessed]. URL: opendata.nhsbsa.net/dataset/dental-new-patient-premium

If you plan on producing a press or broadcast story based upon the data please contact communicationsteam@nhsbsa.nhs.uk. This is important to ensure that the figures are not misunderstood or misrepresented.