As the NHS pilots new dental contracts, issues in NHS dental care could result in the resurgence of dental payment plans. Henry Clover discusses the future of dental and the challenges that lie ahead
According to the BITC Workwell Model (see Figure 3), two of the key factors in ensuring higher productivity, engagement, attendance, retention and recruitment are: better specialist support, and better physical and psychological health.
From a business perspective, The 2011 Denplan Dental Benefits Survey indicated that cost is a key factor for companies in selecting benefits, with more than 50% of company decision makers citing cost and value for money as the primary basis for choosing benefits.
But there is a strong second tier of factors that play a part for a large number of decision-makers, including the regularity of use by employees, and the potential to enhance employee wellbeing.
From this base, we can explore the growth potential among those companies not currently offering those benefits.
Looking at companies reviewing their benefits in 2011, 31% not offering a dental plan are considering adding one.
The desire to buy dental plans compares well to other insurance products such as PMI and health cash plans, where the comparable figures are less than 12%.
Among employees, regularity of use is an even more significant factor, with 76% citing it as important when selecting benefits.
It also seems benefits that guard against unforeseen events and emergencies provide valuable peace of mind to employees – 75% cited this as important in their decision-making process.
The perception of a dental plan being a usable benefit is also key, with 58% of employees and 61% of companies believing a dental plan to be a tangible usable benefit.
There also appears to be good scope for companies to provide dental plans as part of benefits packages – 58% of employees who do not have a dental plan stated they would appreciate access to it as part of their benefits portfolio, while 64% said they would consider a dental plan if their employer offered it.
It is clear that dental benefits have strong associations in the minds of company decision-makers.
Strongest among these beliefs is that dental plans enhance employee wellbeing (71% of decision-makers agree with this statement).
In addition, there is a significant portion of decision-makers who feel a dental plan is a key part of keeping their benefits package up to date and relevant within the current market.
This shows that there is far more to dental plans than as an add-on or bridging benefit to a PMI package.
They have not nearly reached their full potential in the marketplace today. So, it is up to you to make the most of the opportunity.
Dr Henry Clover is deputy chief dental officer at Denplan
