NHS England has analysed the impact of the Dental Recovery Plan (DRP) which was published in February 2024. The first part of this analysis focused on data relating to the impact of the plan and the second part on the new patient premium.

The analysis highlights that dentistry was not in a steady state during the period the DRP was implemented. This was due to the relatively recent implementation of the 2022 reforms (beginning in late 2022 and continuing into 2023) and the ongoing recovery towards pre-Covid levels of delivery. This meant that for some policies it has not been possible to isolate the impact of the DRP against the counterfactual (what would have happened had the DRP not been implemented), a limitation which needs to be considered when reading the evaluation.

Taken together, these analyses indicate the new patient premium was received positively by most contractors and their teams as a sign of willingness to invest in NHS dentistry. However, concerns were expressed that the size of the incentive was insufficient to address concerns about the increased ‘failures to attend’ observed in new patients. Clinicians were also concerned the incentive did not include urgent care. Focus group participants described some changes in practice to support new patients to secure appointments but these were not sufficiently widespread and during the period of the DRP fewer new patients were seen than in previous years.

Analysis of available activity data in 2025/26 suggests that more new patients have received care following the end of the new patient premium, implying that factors other than the incentive were influencing decisions to provide care to new patients.

During 2024/25 there was a decrease of 8% in the number of new adult patients receiving care but new child patients increased by 1%. Overall, access for adults remained stable in 2024/25 but has increased since. Access for children increased in 2024/25. As reported in our previous response, a total of 4.3 million patients attracted a new patient premium but this was fewer than the total seen in the previous year. Access for adult patients has not improved since the new patient premium, suggesting this policy was ineffective in encouraging dental practices to care for new patients.

We have reflected on and integrated these findings in developing the next round of dental contract reforms which Government consulted on in July and August 2025. These focus on more fundamental changes to the contract to address systemic under-payment for those with higher treatment needs and proposals to secure an urgent care safety net, along with a renewed focus on quality and evidence-based care.

We remain committed to reforming the dental system and improving access and care for patients and the experience of our dental teams. We will take the learnings of this evaluation forward in our future work.

• Data analysis: impact of the Dental Recovery Plan – Annex 1
• Qualitative evaluation of the new patient premium scheme in NHS dentistry in England – Annex 2