The Health Secretary Alan Johnson has announced an independent review of dentistry to investigate why so many are without access to an NHS dentist. The review team will look at why there are variations in access and whether the decline in complex treatments reflects the clinical needs of patients.

The team will recommend how funding for dentistry should be allocated to local primary care trusts according to the size and particular needs of the local population. More than 1.2 million fewer people in England are able to access an NHS dentist now than was the case before the reforms were implemented, according to Government figures.

The review will also look at how the Government can best address the issues raised in the Health Select Committee's 2008 report on dentistry, including the suggestion that more treatment bands are introduced.

Welcoming the move, the BDA's Executive Board Chair Susie Sanderson said, 'The BDA is pleased to see the long overdue announcement of a review of NHS dentistry in England. The announcement recognises the significant problems patients and dentists face and places the Department of Health on a path to addressing those problems.'

The independent review team will be chaired by Professor Jimmy Steele, Chair in Oral Health Services Research at the School of Dental Sciences in Newcastle and will include two NHS dentists and an NHS manager. The results of the study, 'A review of NHS dentistry in England' will be published next spring.