With the cost of dentistry in the UK rising and the growing popularity of dental tourism, Matthew Reeves examines the evolution of the present system.
Corporate wellbeing benefit schemes have been around for the best part of two decades in the UK. However, there has been a huge increase in the number of companies offering dental as part of that package in the last few years. This, interestingly, has been largely driven forward by the issues arising from the NHS. So what happened to make company schemes so necessary?
In 2006, the Government introduced a new contract for NHS dentists around the country. This contract was based on each dentist achieving a specified amount of UDAs (Units of Dental Activity). Simply speaking, this meant that the more complex the dental work, the greater the number of UDAs the dentist would earn.
However, there was a fundamental flaw with the new contract – it was at odds with the patient-focused approach that is the foundation of professional training. At its worst, the new contract encouraged dentists to see patients not as people, but simply as a row of teeth and a way to deliver the UDAs required by their contract. It forced dentists to ask not ‘what is the best way to treat this patient’, but, ‘what is the fastest way to treat this patient, given that the procedure will only yield X UDAs’.
Maintaining Ethical Standards
All this meant that many dentists felt they had to leave the NHS in order to maintain their ethical standards; access to an NHS dentist became more difficult; and prices on the NHS were subsequently driven up to compensate for this. In fact, recent statistics show that 900,000 fewer people saw an NHS dentist in 2008, compared with in 2006. This, in turn, has meant that more and more people are turning to their employers for assistance.
Dental tourism is a subject of great debate as to what the future of healthcare in the UK will hold, especially with healthcare tourism providing a cost-effective solution in many cases. With the cost of healthcare rising and the recession at its peak, more than 100,000 medical health trips abroad are expected from the UK alone in 2009, with a total value of around £375m.
Dental tourism is a big part of this, with people travelling to countries such as Hungary and Poland for dental treatment.
However, that dental tourism is itself contributing to the rising costs in the UK and does not promote a preventive approach, as it is sees people reacting to a problem, rather than proactively trying to avoid it. In fact, these trips are almost exclusively used for complex procedures, which are traditionally more expensive in the UK, but the goal should always be to prevent these problems happening in the first place. Corporate wellbeing benefit schemes provide people with an ideal way of maintaining good preventive dental care and therefore reduce the need for extensive dental work in the future.
Most companies now recognise that their most important asset is their team. Therefore employees’ wellbeing is at the forefront of most companies’ minds.
The increase of international companies in the UK has also meant that the UK’s commonly held views on employer responsibility have shifted. America, for example, holds dental benefits as a particularly high priority, and as their corporate presence in the UK has continued to increase, their benefits structure has become the standard for forward-thinking companies.
Diseases Detected in the Mouth
Furthermore, the link between oral health and general wellbeing has been continuously strengthened in recent years, with evidence to show that gum disease can actually lead to more serious illnesses such as diabetes, heart disease and stroke. The fact that over 300 diseases have symptoms that can be detected in the mouth by a dentist, has meant that companies see the dental care of their employees as a responsibility as well as good business sense.
A recent survey by Denplan indicated that 76% of employers believe that providing a dental payment plan contributes to their employees’ overall wellbeing. With 59% of adults going to the dentist every six months, it would be difficult to find a wellbeing benefit with a higher take-up than dental. Therefore, it is easy to understand why companies are looking for providers that can not only help them fulfil their duty of care, but can offer the added services and customer service to supply real value for money.
Flexible benefit schemes have become more and more popular in recent years as they allow companies to offer a wider range of benefits, while leaving the choice to the individual employee. Therefore more companies will opt in for flexible benefits in the future and these will become a more viable option to a wider range of organisations.
Under Fives with Rotting Teeth
Dental payment plan providers will begin to roll-out enhanced services for their corporate clients, tailoring their offering to encourage regular preventive care for both employees and their dependants. This is particularly important, as fewer dentists are able to offer free NHS care to children under the new contract, and with shocking findings that one in five children under five-years are starting school with rotten or filled teeth. By providing an employee plan that covers spouses and dependants you are not only looking after your team’s health, but that of their families.
One of the most important things to ensure is that companies receive the highest levels of customer service, as well as the most relevant guidance and support. Therefore, it is always advisable that organisations talk directly to expert dental companies, rather than general insurance providers. This ensures advice that reflects the latest developments in the dental profession and that any products are specially tailored to promote preventive dental care.
For a company to offer dental as part of an employee wellbeing scheme will not only have a positive effect on employees, but will also help look after the general wellbeing of a wider range of people.
Matthew Reeves is corporate channel manager at Denplan
