Current status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 20 January 2025
To ask the Scottish Government what communication strategies and campaigns it has deployed to highlight the importance of people attending dental appointments and the negative impact on NHS practices if scheduled check-ups and treatments are missed without any notification to the surgery.
To accompany the launch of changes to the dental payment system from November 2023, Scottish Government ran a marketing campaign via commercial radio, social media and surgery posters to highlight the changes to patients and direct them to NHS Inform for more information on a range of oral health matters.
NHS Inform is Scotland’s national health information service and supports people in making informed decisions on all aspects of their health. Information on oral health and dental care includes typical scenarios which patients can expect in attending the dentist, including the importance of regular attendance. In addition to this national resource, each individual dental practice is required to display its policy for late cancellations and non-attendance at scheduled appointments.