Some patients ‘could be denied free six-monthly check-ups’

The major concern is the end of the six-monthly free check-up for people in the “more affluent” areas and the removal of the traditional scale/polishes.

At present, patients can receive a basic check-up every six months.

However, under the new system, patients will be seen according to their ‘oral health risk assessment’.

This will mean that patients in poorer oral health with higher risk factors are likely to be seen more frequently.

Monifieth dentist Gary Grime said: “In some cases, your entitlement to NHS exams will be reduced to once every two years.

“The other major change is that there will no longer be the traditional NHS ‘scale and polish’.

“Only those patients with periodontal disease will be treated under the NHS.”

The mainstay of NHS provision has been a simple scaling and polishing which was thought to prevent gum disease.

The new plan states that “the balance of evidence has now thrown significant doubt on the clinical effectiveness of this approach”.

Dentists are also worried that the reduced number of treatment items (from more than 400 to fewer than 100) paid for by the new system will mean even more restrictions on the teeth they can treat and the materials they can use.