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Download the UDA value checker


The purpose of the UDA value checker

Getting to grips with the financial details of the NHS dental contract in England can be a challenging task, even for those who have been working in this system since 2006. This can make it difficult to make the best business and personal decisions with all the relevant information to hand.

That's why we have analysed data from the NHS Business Services Authority to provide an estimated UDA value for all NHS contracts in England so that you can compare your practice or the practice where you work to the local and national averages.

Please note that the checker is only available to our members - please sign in to be able to download it.

For associates, the UDA value checker will

  • Give you access to important information about the practice where you work or might be considering working

  • Help to inform your decision-making when looking for a job

  • Give you information to approach practice-owners to negotiate your personal UDA value

  • Help you to better understand the NHS financial environment in which your practice-owner operates

For practice owners, the UDA value checker will

  • Give you access to important information about your contract and contracts in your area allow you to easily compare their contract with others in the area

  • Provide information to help you approach commissioners on issues around contract delivery clawback and UDA value

  • Help your associates to understand the NHS financial environment in which the practice operates

About our estimations

We have estimated UDA values by dividing the contract’s value by its contracted UDAs. While we have taken a number of steps in analysing the data to attempt to ensure that this is as accurate as possible, it is possible that some of the contracts included contain payments not based on UDAs and this is, in part, why the UDA value can only be an estimate. 

Please note that the UDA value tracker does not give the full picture about practice finances, as this information is only based on the NHS payments to practices. It doesn't show the many financial pressures on each practice and the costs involved in delivering dentistry, which will vary from practice-to-practice.

  • The checker is only available to our members - please sign in to be able to view it.
  • There are some complex macros and formulas within the checker that security software may block, if you experience difficulties downloading or viewing it please email [email protected].

This data is published by the NHS Business Services Authority (BSA) annually. We have undertaken to present it in a more user-friendly way, so that members can access important information about their contract and practice.

The NHSBSA data used in this checker covers the period from 1 April 2021 to 31 March 2022. If your contract was inactive during this period or did not receive any NHS payments then it won’t feature amongst the list of contracts.

In addition, the checker was developed to help members better understand their contract by comparing it with similar contracts in their area team, hence the checker focuses on active GDS contracts that were comparable with each other. This means we excluded PDS contracts, contracts with less than 1 UDA and contracts with a negative contract value. Also, we focused on contracts with UDAs so removed those which also included UOAs. And we also removed extreme UDA values falling outside the £15 to £45 range.

Go to the "Estimated UDA value by contract" tab and try searching for the practice's postcode or for the name of the practice.

To do so in Windows:

  • Go to the "Estimated UDA value by contract" tab.
  • Click on a random cell.
  • On your keyboard, first press simultaneously CTRL+A, then press CTRL+F and type the details you want to search for - e.g. Smile Dental Practice.
  • Click on "Find Next" until you have browsed all the possibilities and / or found the practice you were after.

This data is published by the NHS Business Services Authority (BSA). Guidance from the NHS BSA indicates that “it is in the public interest to understand the amounts that NHS dental contractors receive to operate and how these vary between contracts and across the country".

The statistics are extracted from NHSBSA CoMPASS as part of its operational process and is a secondary use of the data. There is, therefore, no additional burden on NHS organisations or dental contractors to complete and return this data themselves.”

Further questions?

If you have any further questions about this checker, please contact our Policy team on [email protected].

If you have any further questions about your contract or the data used, please contact your usual payments contact for queries in the first instance.

Exceptionally where queries remain unresolved, please contact the NHSBSA helpdesk:

Phone: 0300 330 1348
Email: [email protected]