GP Patient Survey (GPPS) Dental Statistics from the Period January- March 2016 to July

GP Patient Survey (GPPS) Dental Statistics from the period January- March 2016 to July - September 2011.

January to March 2016

1.1 million adults were contacted, 416,000 replies were received, with a response rate of 38%.
Of all respondents asked, just under three fifths (59%) tried to get an NHS dental appointment in the last two years.
Of the group of respondents who had tried to get an appointment in the last two years;
85% rated their NHS dental experience as positive (50% very good and 35% fairly good);
93% were successful in getting an appointment, a success rate of 95% when excluding the ‘can’t remember’ category.
Respondents who had not been to the practice before were less successful in getting an NHS dental appointment. Younger adults and ethnic minorities also reported a lower success rate. A lower proportion of younger adults and respondents from ethnic minorities had been to the practice before, compared to other respondents.
The remaining two fifths (41%) did not try to get an appointment with an NHS dentist in the last two years, 24% had never tried to get an NHS appointment and 17% had tried but over two years ago.
Of those who had not tried to get an appointment:
38% mentioned private dentistry as the reason for not trying to get an NHS appointment; 23% prefer private dentistry and 15% stayed when their dentist moved from NHS to private.
Just over a fifth (22%) of those adults who did not try stated they had “not needed to visit the dentist” as the reason for not attending.
12% of the respondents who didn’t try to get an NHS dental appointment gave their reason as “I didn’t think I could get an NHS dental appointment”."

July to September 2015

1.1 million adults were contacted, 421,000 replies were received, with a response rate of 39%.
Of all respondents asked, three fifths (60%) tried to get an NHS dental appointment in the last two years.
Of the group of respondents who had tried to get an appointment:
84% rated their NHS dental experience as positive (49% very good and 35% fairly good);
92% were successful in getting an appointment, a success rate of 94% when excluding the ‘can’t remember’ category.
Respondents who were younger adults, from ethnic minorities, or who had not been to the practice before were less successful in getting an NHS dental appointment.
The remaining two fifths (40%) did not try to get an appointment with an NHS dentist in the last two years, 23% had never tried to get an NHS appointment and 18% had tried but over two years ago.
Of those who had not tried to get an appointment:
38% mentioned private dentistry as the reason for not trying to get an NHS appointment; 23% prefer private dentistry and 15% stayed when their dentist moved from NHS to private.
Just over a fifth (21%) of those adults who did not try stated they had “not needed to visit the dentist” as the reason for not attending.
12% of the respondents who didn’t try to get an NHS dental appointment gave their reason as “I didn’t think I could get an NHS dental appointment”"

January to March 2015

1.3 million adults were contacted, 433,000 replies were received, with a response rate of 33%.
Of all respondents asked, three fifths (60%) tried to get an NHS dental appointment in the last two years.
Of the group of respondents who had tried to get an appointment:
85% rated their NHS dental experience as positive (49% very good and 36% fairly good);
93% were successful in getting an appointment, a success rate of 95% when excluding the ‘can’t remember’ category.
Respondents who were younger adults, from ethnic minorities, or who had not been to the practice before were less successful in getting an NHS dental appointment.
The remaining two fifths (39%) of adults who did not try to get an appointment with an NHS dentist in the last two years, just over half had never tried to get an NHS appointment and the remaining had tried but over two years ago.
Of those who hadn’t tried to get an appointment:
38% mentioned private dentistry as the reason for not trying to get an NHS appointment; 22% prefer private dentistry and 16% stayed when their dentist moved from NHS to private.
More than a quarter (27%) of those adults who did not try stated they had “not needed to visit the dentist” as the reason for not attending.
12% of the respondents who didn’t try to get an NHS dental appointment gave their reason as “I didn’t think I could get an NHS dental appointment”."

July to September 2014

1.3 million adults were contacted, 425,000 replies were received, with a response rate of 32%
Of all respondents asked, just over three fifths (61%) tried to get an NHS dental appointment in the last two years
Of the group of respondents who had tried to get an appointment:
84% rated their NHS dental experience as positive (48% very good and 36% fairly good);
93% were successful in getting an appointment, a success rate of 95% when excluding the ‘can’t remember’ category.
Respondents who were younger adults, from ethnic minorities, or who had not been to the practice before were less successful in getting an NHS dental appointment.
The remaining two fifths (39%) of adults who did not try to get an appointment with an NHS dentist in the last two years, just over half had never tried to get an NHS appointment and the remaining had tried but over two years ago.

January to March 2014

"Of all respondents asked, just over three fifths (61%) tried to get an NHS dental appointment in the last two years.
Of the group of respondents who had tried to get an appointment;
84% rated their NHS dental experience as positive (48% very good and 36% fairly good);
93% were successful in getting an appointment, a success rate of 95% when excluding the ‘can’t remember’ category
Respondents who were younger adults, from ethnic minorities, or who had not been to the practice before were less successful in getting an NHS dental appointment.
The remaining two fifths (39%) of adults who did not try to get an appointment with an NHS dentist in the last two years, just over half had never tried to get an NHS appointment and the remaining had tried but over two years ago.

July to September 2013

1.3 million adults contacted, 450,000 replies received, with a response rate of 34%.
Of all respondents asked, just over three fifths (61%) stated that they have tried to get an NHS dental appointment in the last two years.
Of the group of respondents who had tried to get an appointment:
84% rated their NHS dental experience as positive (48% very good and 36% fairly good);
93% were successful in getting an appointment, a success rate of 95% when excluding the ‘can’t remember’ category.
Respondents who were younger adults, from ethnic minorities, or who had not been to the practice before were less successful in getting an NHS dental appointment.
The remaining two fifths (39%) of adults who did not try to get an appointment with an NHS dentist in the last two years, just over half had never tried to get an NHS appointment and the remaining had tried but over two years ago.
Of those who hadn’t tried to get an appointment:
The main reason stated for not trying to get an appointment was “not needed to visit the dentist” which was mentioned by a fifth (20%) of those adults who did not try.
38% mentioned private dentistry as the reason for not trying to get an NHS appointment; 20% stating they prefer private dentistry and 18% staying when their dentist move from NHS to private.
13% of the respondents who didn’t try to get an NHS dental appointment gave their reason as “I didn’t think I could get an NHS dental appointment”.

January to March 2013

1.4 million adults contacted, 500,000 replies received with a response rate of 35.5%.
Of all respondents asked, three fifths stated they have tried to get an NHS dental appointment in the last two years.
Of those that tried to get an appointment in the last two years,
93% were successful, a success rate of 95% when excluding the can’t remember category.
Respondents who were younger adults, from ethnic minorities or who had not been to the practice before were less successful in getting an NHS dental appointment.
84% of respondents who tried to get an appointment in the last two years rated their NHS dental experience as positive (48% very good and 36% fairly good);
Two fifths of adults did not try to get an appointment with an NHS dentist in the last two years, just over half of these had not tried at all and the remaining last tried over two years ago.
The main reason given for not trying to get an appointment was “not needed to visit the dentist” which was mentioned by a fifth of adults (20%) who did not try.
38% of those who did not try to get an NHS dental appointment mentioned private dentistry as the reason; 20% stating they prefer private dentistry and 18% staying when their dentist move from NHS to private.
13% of the respondents who didn’t try to get an NHS dental appointment gave their reason as “I didn’t think I could get an NHS dental appointment”.

July to September 2012

1.4 million adults contacted, 475,000 replies received with a response rate of 34.8%
Of all respondents asked, 60% stated they have tried to get an NHS dental appointment in the last two years.
Of those that tried to get an appointment in the last two years, the success rate in getting an appointment was 94%.
Success in getting an NHS dental appointment was lower for those going to a practice they had not been to before, younger adults and for ethnic minorities.
83% of respondents who tried to get an appointment in the last two years rated their NHS dental experience as positive (47% very good and 36% fairly good);
Of the 40% who did not try to get an appointment with an NHS dentist in the last two years, 22% had not tried at all and 18% last tried over 2 years ago.
The main reason given for not trying to get an appointment was “not needed to visit the dentist” which was mentioned by a fifth of adults (20%) who did not try.
38% of those who did not try to get an NHS dental appointment gave private dentistry as the reason, 19% stating they prefer private dentistry and 18% staying when their dentist move from NHS to private.
14% of the respondents, who didn’t try to get an NHS dental appointment, gave their reason as “I didn’t think I could get an NHS dental appointment”.

January to March 2012

510,000 responses, 38% of the 1.4 million people contacted.
60% of adults in the survey tried to obtain an appointment with an NHS dentist in the two year period prior to answering the question in January to March 2012.
93% of respondents who tried to obtain an appointment within the past two years said they were successful (a success rate of 95%, when excluding those who didn’t remember the outcome).
Respondents who tried more recently were more successful. 95% of respondents trying within the past three months and within the past six months stated they were successful (96% success rate excluding can’t remember respondents).
85% of respondents tried to make an appointment with a dental practice they had previously attended. Of those who went on to answer whether they successfully made the appointment, 97% stated they did
For the 12% of patients who sought appointments with a new dental practice in the last two years, 77% were successful, 21% were unsuccessful and 3% couldn’t remember the outcome;
North East SHA area had the largest percentage of the adult population seeking an NHS dental appointment in the last two years, at 67%, whilst South Central SHA had the smallest, where 53% sought an NHS appointment.
North East SHA and East of England SHA had the largest percentage, with 95% stating they were successful over the last two years. London SHA had the lowest percentage with 89%.
For patients seeking an appointment in the last two years at a practice they had not been to before, East of England had the largest percentage successful, with 82%, Yorkshire and Humber had the smallest (69%).

July to September 2011 - CANNOT COMPARE TO SUBSEQUENT RESULTS

First bi-annual results

The response rate for wave one of the 2011/2012 survey is 38%, based on 530,174 surveys returned between 4 July and 6 October 2011.
Most patients (59%) have tried to get an NHS dental appointment in the last two years. A quarter (24%) of patients has tried in the last three months.
Of those patients who have tried to get an NHS dental appointment in the last two years, the majority (84%) tried to get it with a practice they had visited before.
Most patients (92%) were then successful in getting this appointment – just 6% were unsuccessful.
Overall, most describe their experience as good (83%) – while for around one in twelve (8%), their experience was poor.
Two-fifths (41%) of patients have not tried to get an NHS dental appointment in the last two years, and of these, around a fifth (22%) have never tried to get one.
The main reasons given for not having tried to get an NHS dental appointment in the last two years were that they have either not needed a dentist (20%), that they have stayed with their dentist after they have changed from NHS to private (19%), or that they have preferred to go to a private dentist (18%).
One in seven (14%) did not know they could get an NHS dentist appointment, and one in twelve (8%) say it is because they no longer have any natural teeth.
Less commonly cited reasons include a dislike of the dentist (6%), or because NHS dental treatment is expensive (4%).