What is a Dental Access Centre?

From Volume 28, Issue 2, March 2001 | Pages 58-59

Authors

J. Morris

MCDH, FDS(DPH), DDPH

Lecturer in Dental Public Health, School of Dentistry, Birmingham B4 6NN

Articles by J. Morris

H. Lunn

BDS, DDH, DDPH RCS

Consultant in Dental Public Health, South Staffordshire Health Authority, Mellor House, Corporation Street, Stafford ST16 3SR

Articles by H. Lunn

T. Prince

BDS

Clinical Director of Dentistry, First Community Health NHS Trust, Central Clinic, North Walls, Stafford ST16 3AE

Articles by T. Prince

J. Barlow

BSc, DMS, MBA

Associate Director of Primary Care, South Staffordshire Health Authority, Mellor House, Corporation Street, Stafford ST16 3SR

Articles by J. Barlow

Abstract

Few in dentistry can be unaware of the Prime Minister's pledge made at the September 1999 Labour Party conference in Bournemouth: “and working with the British Dental Association, everyone within the next two years will be able once again to see an NHS dentist just by phoning NHS Direct.” The recent NHS dental plan ‘Modernising NHS Dentistry’1,2 has announced a number of initiatives to work towards this goal, the deadline for which is rapidly approaching. Obviously, this is not going to be possible without some reversal, or at least a slow down, in the move away from the NHS by General Dental Practitioners and there are parts of the plan devoted to this objective. That said, equally it would appear that these may not in themselves be enough to ensure that people can access NHS dental care within a reasonable travelling distance, which leads us to consider the other part of the plan, Dental Access Centres (DACs), which are intended to supplement other services, not replace them. This paper attempts to explain just what they are, presents one particular DAC scheme as an example and discusses the challenges they face in the future.

Article

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