General dental practitioner views on the current and future provision of advanced NHS restorative dentistry services: a cross-sectional survey in England

Abstract

Introduction Advanced NHS restorative dentistry services are an important aspect of patient care. Managed clinical networks (MCNs) have been proposed as a future model of care.Aim To assess general dental practitioners' (GDPs') satisfaction with the current provision of advanced NHS restorative dentistry services and assess their views on MCNs.Methods A self-administered, online survey was distributed by the Northern Dental Practice Based Research Network and was shared on social media.Results In total, 108 responses were received from GDPs working in England; 55% in the North East. GDPs felt current services for periodontics, endodontics, tooth surface loss and temporomandibular disorders were the most important and were most unsatisfied with periodontics, endodontics and tooth surface loss. The most important barriers to current referral practice were previous referral rejections and the return of costly treatment plans. Opinions were favourable towards the proposed MCNs, with one-third of participants feeling they were already suitable to apply to deliver Level 2 services. There was a notable imbalance between sexes, with fewer female dentists (57%) registering interest in joining an MCN compared to their male counterparts (76%) and female dentists also identifying more barriers to join MCNs, including access to suitable training. Recent graduates were least likely to cite a lack of time as a barrier to engaging with MCNs.Conclusions GDPs are currently unsatisfied with advanced NHS restorative dentistry services but appear keen to engage with MCNs. The survey identified important insights which may help healthcare planners develop services.

Paediatric dentistry provision in the North East of England: workforce confidence and attitudes

“…A national cross-sectional survey currently in press, related to restorative dentistry, identified that 33% of respondents felt that they were in a position to apply for a Level 2 role within a restorative MCN. 15 This is greater than the proportion of respondents in this study (23%) that felt they were in a position to provide Level 2 services in paediatric dentistry. This may be related to differences in access to Level 2 training opportunities in the different specialities, different samples obtained, the national versus regional approach and the exclusive sampling of GDPs in the restorative survey.…”

Dentists' preparedness to provide Level 2 services in the North East of England: a mixed methods study

“…There has been some early exploration of the development of the Level 2 workforce in restorative and paediatric dentistry. 23,24 Published evaluations of upskilling initiatives have demonstrated high patient satisfaction with services provided by primary care dentists with enhanced skills and the majority of dentists involved in the initiatives recognised patient benefits. 12 However, the willingness, capacity and training needs of the dental workforce to deliver Level 2 services are unknown.…”