A new government agency report has concluded that the NHS dentistry reforms due to be in place in October 2005 may result in dentists cutting their NHS commitments.

The National Audit Office – which scrutinises public spending by government departments and other public bodies on behalf of Parliament and is independent of the Government – recently published a report that highlighted concerns about how the new system would be run.

The report stated that though there was a strong rationale for modernising NHS dentistry, significant risks would have to be managed if the DoH's new arrangements were to be effective and provide value for money.

Scepticism and a lack of detail about how the system was to operate could result in dentists reducing their NHS commitments.

It added that under the new arrangements, PCTs would be assuming new roles and responsibilities for implementing the new system such as commissioning the services, but had little experience of high street dentistry.

The report highlighted concerns that patients may not understand their entitlements, what services were available on the NHS and what they were paying for.

The National Audit Office report, Reforming NHS Dentistry: Ensuring effective management of risks is available at www.nao.org.uk.