Dental system to be reviewed

Dental check-ups every six months could be abolished under Government plans.

Health ministers and experts believe the visits, introduced 50 years ago, are a waste of time and money.

The Department of Health will commission research into 'a more flexible recall system' to see if it can justify abandoning the twice-yearly visits.

Aubrey Sheiham, professor of dental public health at University College, London, said the NHS could save £200 million a year if dentists did less frequent check-ups and reduced polishing and scaling, which research suggests gives no long-term benefits.

The NHS pays £6.15 for each checkup and dentists earn an average of £47 an hour.

Professor Sheiham said: 'There is no evidence that 90 per cent of adults need to go to a dentist every six months.

'Most adults under the age of 40 could go every two to three years because their dental health is so good, mostly as a result of the introduction of fluoride into toothpaste in the 1970s.' The money saved could be spent on more expensive work such as bridges and crowns.

Dentists are currently reluctant to do such work on the NHS because it is not very profitable.

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