Thousands of dentist appointments could come to Bury St Edmunds and Mildenhall next year

Thousands of extra dentist appointments could come to 'underserved' communities as early as next year.

The NHS Suffolk and North East Essex Integrated Care Board (SNEE ICB) initially outlined plans for extra dental services in underserved areas of Suffolk back in July.

A private meeting was then held to plan how to best deliver those extra services in Bury St Edmunds, Mildenhall, Brandon, Eye and north west Suffolk, Saxmundham and north east Suffolk, including Leiston.

Speaking to county councillors yesterday, Nicola Brunning, deputy director of commissioning for the care board, said these could be rolled out from April next year.

She revealed the ICB planned to commission some 160,000 extra Units of Dental Activity (UDA) — tokens which determine the value of treatments and how much dentists are paid for their work.

Basic dental check-ups are classed as one UDA while further complex work, including bridges, crowns and dentures, is classed as 12 UDAs.

By contrast, she said, a dentist with an NHS contract usually delivers 6,000 UDAs each year, meaning the extra services could deliver thousands of new dental appointments.

Ms Brunning said the new services would represent a ‘significant uptick in terms of provision’, and help areas which had nothing by way of dental services.

“This will be a significant investment by the ICB," she said, "and should support significantly improved access for our population."

Procurement is due to start by next month, with existing areas initially being