An overview of NHS urgent dental care provision in Wales: where are the hotspots?

Aim Welsh Government NHS dental contract reform initiatives allowed Local Health Boards to add weighting towards urgent dental care. The policy changes aimed to increase access to NHS urgent dental services in Wales. The aim of this paper was to determine the demand for NHS urgent primary dental care in Wales and to identify any sociodemographic predictors.Methods Data were requested from NHS Business Services Authority for all urgent FP17W dental claims submitted from 2017-2024. Population estimates were obtained from Stats Wales and Welsh Index of Multiple Deprivation scores from InfoBase Cymru.Results The number of NHS urgent FP17W claims per year remained relatively constant over the seven-year study; however, urgent care as a proportion of total claims has increased. The regions in Wales with the strongest relationship between high adult urgent dental attendance and deprivation in 2017-2018 were Blaenau Gwent, Cardiff and Torfaen. By 2023-2024, Blaenau Gwent and Torfaen remained prominent 'hotspots', with Merthyr Tydfil, Newport, and Rhondda Cynon Taf also emerging as areas of concern.Conclusion Targeted interventions in the regions highlighted may aid in the planning and commissioning of acute dental services to improve access and quality of care for patients in Wales.