Dentist leaders are calling for specific details on how Scotland's national drive to improve oral health will be funded and achieved.

In January of this year, the Scottish Government published its Oral Health Improvement Plan (OHIP)1 promising steps to prevent poor oral health, cut oral health inequalities and address the needs of the ageing population.

Cabinet Secretary for Health and Sport Jeane Freeman

It outlined a new preventive system of care to assess patients based on risk, and address the link between deprivation and ill-health alongside the introduction of personalised care plans which focus on lifestyle choices such as diet, alcohol and smoking, and how these impacted on health.

Specific recommendations included a scheme to meet the needs of the ageing population, enabling suitably skilled practitioners to treat people cared for in their own homes; a Community Challenge Fund of up to £500,000 in 2018-19 to allow organisations to bid for funding to work in deprived communities and support people to practise better oral health; and to extend the time between dental checks to 24 months for some patients.

As part of the recent announcement by Prime Minister Theresa May of an extra £20 billion being injected into the NHS by 2023-24, £2 billion of additional funding has now been made available for NHS Scotland.

In an open letter2 sent to the newly appointed Cabinet Secretary for Health and Sport Jeane Freeman, British Dental Association Scotland urged her to provide some more detail on OHIP with information on planning, timelines and provision of necessary resources.

Chair of the BDA's Scottish Council, Robert Donald, said: 'The Oral Health Improvement Plan sets big aspirations, but provides little detail on funds set aside to pay for them. The promise of extra NHS budget now offers a vital opportunity to secure necessary resources required for implementation.

'Meeting the needs of an ageing population and reducing oral health inequalities in Scotland are vital goals. However we are yet to see details on plans, timescales or resources to achieve them, or indeed any tangible commitment to maintain the financial viability of high street practices during a period of profound change.

'Sadly, instead of needed investment, a focus on 24 month recall intervals feels like a bid to spread a steady state budget too thinly. When oral cancer rates are surging – and early detection is key – the Scottish Government needs to reconsider. Likewise a change in tack on scale and polish looks like a cost cutting exercise.

'Prevention could reap huge dividends for Scottish patients and taxpayers. The Scottish Government needs to show it is prepared to make an effective investment in oral health.'