Winning NHS Dental Contracts: A Practice Owner's Guide to the Bid

Winning NHS Dental Contracts: A Practice Owner's Guide to the Bid

NHS dental services are commissioned by NHS England and, in many areas, delegated to integrated care boards, advertised on Find a Tender, and scored on quality, access and value. Most tenders weigh clinical governance and patient access more heavily than price, often with quality making up 60 to 70 per cent of the total marks.

Where contracts are advertised and how they work

As of 2026-10-25, NHS dental contracts in England are published on Find a Tender Service. Some are procured under the Provider Selection Regime, particularly where incumbent providers are being re-assessed or where additional capacity is needed in a specific geography. Others follow standard procurement routes. You should check the notice carefully for the exact legal regime and timescale.

The procuring body is usually an integrated care board, though some contracts remain directly commissioned by NHS England regional teams. The specification will define units of dental activity, patient groups, geography, any special access requirements for underserved populations, and whether the contract is a GDS, PDS or prototype arrangement.

Reading the specification and understanding what is actually scored

Most dental tenders give significant marks for patient access. This does not mean opening hours alone. Evaluators score your plan for reaching groups who struggle to find care: children in low-income households, people with learning disabilities, those needing domiciliary visits, and patients in areas with few accepting practices.

A worked example helps. Imagine a tender worth 20,000 units of dental activity annually in a suburban area with pockets of deprivation. The specification asks how you will ensure at least 30 per cent of activity is delivered to children under 18 and at least 15 per cent to patients requiring domiciliary care. The quality section is worth 70 marks out of 100, split into access (25 marks), clinical governance (20 marks), workforce (15 marks), and social value (10 marks). Price is the remaining 30 marks.

Your response on access must explain your appointment system, how you will identify and contact families in target postcodes, your Saturday or evening clinics, transport links, and any outreach. Evaluators look for evidence you have done this before, not promises. If you have never delivered domiciliary care at scale, you need a credible partnership or recruitment plan with names, not vague intentions. A practice that sets out a memorandum of understanding with a local special school, shows rosters for two named clinicians trained in special care dentistry, and commits specific sessions will score well. A practice that says it will "work with community groups to raise awareness" will not.

Clinical governance is about systems, not aspiration. The question will ask how you assure quality, handle complaints, manage safeguarding, train staff, audit outcomes, and report incidents. You score marks by describing your existing CQC rating, your clinical lead's role, your audit cycle with real examples, your safeguarding lead and their training, and your incident log. If you are a single-handed practice, you can still score well by showing you use peer review, attend local dental network meetings, and have formal arrangements for cover and second opinions.

Workforce and premises

Workforce is where many bids weaken. The evaluator wants to know you can staff the contract from day one and sustain it. If you need three additional clinicians to deliver the activity, name them or show live recruitment with terms agreed. A letter of intent from an associate, a contract with a locum agency, or evidence of an offer accepted will score. A statement that you will "recruit qualified professionals" will not.

Premises questions ask about accessibility, infection control, equipment, and any capital plans. If the contract requires you to add surgeries or move location, the evaluator needs a timeline, a lease or freehold commitment, and evidence of capital funding or finance agreed in principle. Do not bid for a contract requiring new premises unless you have already secured the site or can show a board-approved business case with funding.

Social value and the 10 per cent rule

Social value typically carries 10 per cent of the total score under the Public Services (Social Value) Act. For dental contracts, common themes are local employment, apprenticeships, school outreach on oral health, and support for vulnerable groups beyond the clinical specification.

An illustrative answer might commit to employing two trainee dental nurses from the local college, delivering six oral health sessions annually in primary schools within the contract geography, and offering work experience to students from a named secondary school. These must be additional to your core service. Evaluators score based on clarity, measurability, and relevance to the local population. Promises to "support the local economy" score nothing.

How to structure your written response

Most tenders use a question-and-answer format with word or page limits. Read the limit carefully. If the question says 500 words, a 600-word answer may be truncated or disqualified.

Structure each answer with a short opening statement, evidence in the middle, and a summary of the outcome or benefit. Use subheadings if the question has multiple parts. Avoid tables unless the question explicitly asks for them, because evaluators often score narrative more easily than data.

If the tender asks for a method statement and separately for evidence, do not repeat yourself. The method is what you will do, the evidence is proof you have done it or can do it. A method statement might say you will hold twice-weekly evening clinics for working families. The evidence section would give the dates you ran this model at another site and the activity data showing take-up.

For help structuring NHS tender responses, see our NHS tender writing page.

The interview or presentation stage

Some dental tenders include a clarification interview or presentation after written scoring. This is not a formality. It carries marks. The panel will include a commissioning manager, often a dental clinical lead, sometimes a lay member or patient representative.

They will ask about your workforce plan, your understanding of the local population, and how you will handle surges in demand or staff absence. Prepare a one-page summary of your activity profile, your current UDA delivery if you hold an existing contract, and your clinician availability. Bring your clinical governance lead if you have one. Do not bring a bid writer who cannot answer operational questions.

Our commercial model

We work on a success fee tied to contract wins, not to being added to frameworks. You pay nothing unless you are awarded the contract. This aligns our interest with yours. It also means we are selective. We work with practices that have the operational capacity and evidence base to win, not those testing the water.

If you are an existing provider looking to retain or expand, or a new entrant with a strong local presence and clinical team in place, we can usually add 10 to 15 marks to your quality score through clearer evidence, better structure, and evaluator-focused answers. If you are a speculative bidder without premises, workforce or a track record, we will tell you plainly not to bid.

For practices working across NHS frameworks or considering the Provider Selection Regime, see our NHS framework specialists and Provider Selection Regime pages.

Frequently asked questions

How long does a typical NHS dental tender take from notice to contract award?

Most dental tenders allow four to six weeks for the written submission after the notice is published, then two to four weeks for evaluation and any clarification stage, then a standstill period of at least ten days before contract signature. End to end, expect three months from advertisement to go-live, though some procurements move faster if the need is urgent. Always check the specific timeline in the procurement notice.

Can I bid for a contract outside my current area if I do not yet have premises there?

You can, but you will score poorly on premises and delivery unless you show a credible commitment. Evaluators expect a signed lease, a site identified with terms agreed, or at very least a shortlist of sites with a capital plan and board minute approving the move. A statement of intent to find premises after award will not score. If you cannot show a premises solution at bid stage, you should not bid.

What is the difference between GDS, PDS and prototype contracts in a tender?

GDS contracts pay per unit of dental activity with nationally set fees and a standard contract. PDS contracts are locally agreed with more flexibility on activity mix, payment and service design. Prototype contracts test new models, often blending capitation, prevention incentives and activity. The tender notice will specify which model applies. Each has different risk and flexibility, and your bid should reflect your understanding of the payment and performance terms for the specific model being procured.

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