NHS Scotland has announced that young individuals aged under 26 years will now be eligible to receive free dental treatment. About 600,000 individuals are likely to benefit from this decision.
From 24 August 2021, all individuals aged under 26 years have become eligible for the free treatment, without the need to 'opt-in'. Individuals who had begun dental treatment with the NHS prior to their 26th birthday have also become eligible.
In addition to £5 million previously announced for improving ventilation in dental practices, funding of £7.5 million has been pledged to the dental sector for its recovery and restoration to pre-pandemic capacity. A significant proportion of the funding will be used to purchase new dental drill equipment that generates fewer aerosols, thereby lowering the risk of COVID-19 transmission.
Scotland's Health Secretary Humza Yousaf said: "We’re committed to scrapping NHS dental charges for everyone in Scotland, and removing them for everyone aged under 26 is our first step on that journey. I want to thank the dental sector for its outstanding efforts over the last challenging period and I look forward to engaging with you further as the Scottish Government continues to support practice recovery and improved NHS dental services for patients."
This article originally appeared on Univadis, part of the Medscape Professional Network.
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Cite this: Pavankumar Kamat. Free NHS Dental Treatment for Young People in Scotland - Medscape - May 23, 2021.
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