Written Question · S6W-42576 · Session 6
Whether it plans to develop the role of enhanced or Tier Two dental practitioners within NHS Scotland, and whether it will set out for such…
The question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to develop the role of enhanced or Tier Two dental practitioners within NHS Scotland, and whether it will set out for such practitioners (a) a process for recruitment and training, (b) a national model or system to support their clinical operation, (c) how it will identify areas of greatest population need for their deployment, and (d) clinical guidance defining the scope of treatment they will undertake and what patients will be referred onward to specialist services.
The answer
The 2018 Oral Health Improvement Plan set out the Scottish Government’s intention to introduce enhanced service practitioners, working within the General Dental Service (GDS) or primary care/ high street environment. The aim of this proposal was to support more treatment delivery in a primary care setting rather than requiring referral to hospital, and included a system of accreditation for GDS dentists covering support, mentoring, governance, quality assurance and training.The Scottish Government introduced the role of enhanced services practitioners in June 2019 in the domiciliary care sector, as set out in the following amendment to the Statement of Dental Remuneration: PCA(D)(2019)09
- Dentists with enhanced skills in domiciliary care: NHS (General Dental Services) (Scotland) regulations 2010
- amendments; Amendment no 136 to the Statement of Dental Remuneration.Since the introduction of enhanced services practitioners in the domiciliary care sector, Government priorities have necessarily focused on supporting the dental sector through the Covid-19 pandemic, pandemic recovery, and implementing dental payment reform in November 2023 – the most significant change to the dental payment system in a generation, and a critical enabler to wider service sustainability into the long-term.In June 2025, the Scottish Government published the Health and Social Care Service Renewal Framework which further affirms our commitment to shift care into the community and away from hospital settings. As part of strategic work around Framework implementation, we are considering how best to reduce referrals to hospital dental services including the potential roll-out of wider enhanced skills dentists in primary care.
- Dentists with enhanced skills in domiciliary care: NHS (General Dental Services) (Scotland) regulations 2010
- amendments; Amendment no 136 to the Statement of Dental Remuneration.Since the introduction of enhanced services practitioners in the domiciliary care sector, Government priorities have necessarily focused on supporting the dental sector through the Covid-19 pandemic, pandemic recovery, and implementing dental payment reform in November 2023 – the most significant change to the dental payment system in a generation, and a critical enabler to wider service sustainability into the long-term.In June 2025, the Scottish Government published the Health and Social Care Service Renewal Framework which further affirms our commitment to shift care into the community and away from hospital settings. As part of strategic work around Framework implementation, we are considering how best to reduce referrals to hospital dental services including the potential roll-out of wider enhanced skills dentists in primary care.
In the Official Report
No contribution in the Official Report cites S6W-42576 by reference.