Commissioning of NHS dental services is going through turbulent times as it contends with structural change in the NHS, the launch of pilots for a new dental contract and pressures on funding.

The BDA's 2011 Dental commissioning survey found that more than one-quarter (28%) of primary care trusts (PCTs) questioned have had their commissioning functions merged with those of other PCTs. But only a few (8%) said that such clustering had decreased their ability to respond to local needs. Half of those questioned said that clustering had improved their ability to manage contracts.

The survey also uncovered funding concerns: 21% reported cuts of more than 4% to their budgets for salaried primary dental care, and 18% reported smaller decreases in budgets for hospital dentistry.

Further details are available at: www.bda.org/lcresearch.