NHS dental services tenders (GDS, PDS and community dentistry)

NHS dental commissioning is changing. ICBs are under pressure to fix access, target inequalities and move money towards the areas with the poorest oral health. That is driving more GDS, PDS and community dentistry tenders, re-procurements and pilots.

If you run an NHS dental practice, community dental service or larger group, you are no longer just being judged on UDAs and activity. Commissioners want clear evidence that you can deliver access, prevention, quality and value for the people they are responsible for.

This page sets out how to approach NHS dental services tenders in a way that matches current commissioning priorities and stands out from routine, template bids.

The main types of NHS dental tenders

Most dental tenders fall into one of three broad types. Understanding which you are seeing helps you pitch your solution at the right level.

Tender type	Typical commissioner	What they are usually trying to fix	What your bid must show clearly
GDS / PDS contracts (practice based care)	ICBs, sometimes NHS England during transition	Poor access, historic UDA patterns, local inequalities	Safe handover or new service, realistic activity, workforce plan, extended hours, targeted access
Community dental services (CDS)	ICBs, local authorities, sometimes joint	Complex needs, special care dentistry, children, vulnerable adults	Strong safeguarding, clinical governance, outreach, links with hospitals and safeguarding teams
Targeted or blended models (urgent care, access schemes, outreach)	ICBs, local systems, some pilots	Specific access gaps, for example rural areas or high need communities	Flexible delivery, outreach, data to support targeting, simple outcomes that show change

Some opportunities will blend these elements, for example a core GDS contract with specific access schemes, or a community service with in-reach to care homes and other settings. Your bid needs to reflect the exact mix described in the specification, not a generic “NHS dentistry” model.

Some things you need to be prepared for

Start with the local oral health problem

The strongest bids start with the local picture, not a description of what your practice already does.

Before you write, pin down:

• Which towns, neighbourhoods or groups the commissioner has highlighted
• What they say about access, waiting times and missed appointments
• Any focus on children, urgent care, care homes or people who are housebound
• Links to local oral health strategies, population health plans or inequalities work

Your opening section should show that you understand why the contract is being tendered now. For example:

• Replacement of a provider that has handed back a contract
• Consolidation or redistribution of UDAs to match need
• Shift of community provision from hospital settings into community clinics
• Pilot or early move towards more prevention-based models

This helps you frame your service model as a direct answer to the commissioner’s problem, rather than a generic description of your current practice.

Designing a realistic access and activity model

Panels are very wary of bids that promise big increases in access without clear plans. For GDS and PDS tenders, you need to show that your activity, workforce and opening hours all line up.

It helps to set out:

• Your proposed opening hours, including evenings and weekends if required
• How many surgeries you will run, and how that varies across the week
• The mix of dentists, therapists, hygienists and nurses you will use
• How you will balance urgent and routine care slots
• How you will handle surges in demand, for example after a new contract launch

Avoid simply saying “we will meet or exceed the required UDA level”. Explain:

• How many UDAs you will deliver per clinical session
• How you have allowed for training, admin, sickness and holidays
• What assumptions you have made about skill mix and productivity

A modest, well explained model is more convincing than a promise to deliver high activity with no detail on how you will staff it.

Prevention and inequalities: not just a paragraph at the end

Commissioners are now judged on population health and inequalities, not only on activity. Your bid should treat prevention as part of core delivery, not as a side project.

Bring out:

• How you will identify high-risk groups in the contract area, for example children in deprived wards, people with learning disabilities or those in supported housing
• How you will work with health visitors, schools, community groups and primary care to reach those groups
• Use of evidence based prevention, such as fluoride varnish programmes, supervised brushing, advice for parents and carers and support for people with dry mouth or complex conditions
• How you will record and report prevention activity so commissioners can see progress

If the tender mentions “Core20PLUS5” or similar language, mirror that in your answers and show how your service will help narrow gaps in access and outcomes.

Clinical governance, safety and quality

Dental tenders always have questions on quality and safety, but scores are often lost because answers are too high level. Cover:

• How you will manage clinical governance across all sites and staff, including lone workers and outreach
• How you respond to incidents, complaints and near misses, and how learning is shared
• Arrangements for sedation, domiciliary care or treatment of people with complex medical needs where relevant
• Links with acute hospitals, special care services and other providers for referral and advice
• How you will ensure appropriate safeguarding, mental capacity and consent practice, including with children and adults who lack capacity

Use simple, clear examples from your current practice to show how governance works in real life, not just policy titles.

Workforce, recruitment and retention

Workforce risk is one of the biggest concerns in dental commissioning. Panels will look closely at whether your staffing plans are realistic over the full contract term.

Set out:

• Your current workforce, vacancy levels and turnover
• How you will attract and retain dentists and wider team members in that specific area
• Use of therapists, hygienists and dental nurses to support efficient skill mix
• How you will support staff with training, supervision and development
• Contingency arrangements if a key clinician leaves or a site is affected by sickness or maternity leave

If you plan to rely on recruitment after award, be honest about this and show evidence that you can make it work, for example past recruitment in similar locations.

Community dental services and special care dentistry

For community dental service tenders, commissioners are looking for more than a relocated GDS model. They need a provider that can safely support children, adults with disabilities, people with severe anxiety and others who cannot easily use standard high street services.

Your bid should explain:

• Referral routes and criteria, including screening and prioritisation
• Your approach to behaviour support, desensitisation and reasonable adjustments
• How you work with learning disability services, mental health teams, schools and social care
• Access to sedation, general anaesthetic lists and hospital support where required
• How you support carers, families and support workers to maintain oral health between appointments

This is an area where soft evidence matters. Case examples, in plain English, can show commissioners how you work with people in challenging situations without making unrealistic promises.

Data, reporting and contract management

New dental contracts are subject to closer scrutiny than historic deals. Commissioners will expect regular, clear reporting, not just basic activity returns.

Explain:

• What data you will collect and how, including activity, access, DNA rates, urgent demand and prevention
• How you will break data down by practice, site or population group where needed
• How you will use the data yourself to spot problems early, for example rising waiting times or repeated cancellations
• How you will work with commissioners in contract review meetings, including sharing simple dashboards and improvement plans

If you can make life easier for busy contract managers by presenting information clearly, you gain an advantage over bidders who only restate the minimum reporting requirements.

Why dental bids often lose

Feedback from dental tenders shows some recurring issues:

• Little or no reference to the local oral health profile or inequalities in the area
• Activity models that look ambitious but do not explain how the workforce will support them
• Very light content on workforce risk, recruitment and retention
• Weak prevention and inequalities sections, often limited to generic health promotion statements
• Limited explanation of how governance and safeguarding work day to day
• Outcomes and reporting sections that simply restate the national measures

All of these can be addressed with better planning, internal engagement and independent review before you submit.

How Bidding supports NHS dental services tenders

Bidding has a long track record across healthcare, community services and dental tenders, with an 87.5% win rate on NHS and local authority healthcare bids since 2015.

For GDS, PDS and community dentistry tenders we can help you to:

• Understand the commissioner’s local priorities and oral health challenges
• Shape a service model that balances access, prevention, quality and workforce reality
• Build clear, plain English method statements that evaluators can follow and score confidently
• Turn your activity, outcomes and feedback into persuasive evidence rather than raw numbers
• Run detailed bid reviews and mock evaluations so you submit with a clear view of your likely scores

If you are facing an NHS dental tender or planning ahead for contract changes, Bidding can work with you from early bid strategy through to final submission, helping you present a calm, credible and competitive offer that fits what commissioners now expect from dental providers.

Contact our team