What should a course of NHS dental treatment consist of?

A Course of Treatment (CoT) is:

 

(a) an examination of a patient, an assessment of their oral health, and the planning of any treatment to be provided to that patient as a result of that examination and assessment; and
 

(b) the provision of any planned treatment (including any treatment planned at a time other than the time of the initial examination) to that patient.
 

The course of treatment will also include any treatment that is discovered during the course, even at a later date to the initial assessment. For example, the clinician with their scope of practice could state that a patient needs three fillings but when the patient returns for the final filling; the clinician realises that the patient needs a further filling. This would be included in the same CoT and come under the same initial charge. The performer would only receive the one set of UDA.

This information is also available in The National Health Service (Dental Charges) Regulations 2005 (PDF: 285KB).