# The UK Standing Dental Advisory Committee (1948-2010) with special reference to its Expert Working Party on Orthodontics, 1992

## TL;DR

This paper explores the history of the UK Standing Dental Advisory Committee and its impact on dental health services, particularly orthodontics.

## Contribution

It highlights the role of the Expert Working Party on Orthodontics in improving treatment standards and the effects of the committee's abolition.

## Key findings

- The Working Party on Orthodontics improved the delivery and standards of orthodontic treatment in the UK.
- The abolition of the Standing Dental Advisory Committee may have harmed communication between dentists and the government.

## Abstract

While the British Dental Association initially advised its members against joining the NHS (National Health Service), its success for dentistry was assured by the enthusiastic support of the Incorporated Dental Society Ltd, led by Frederick Ballard. Regarded by the Socialist Medical Association, of which he was a member, as the ‘voice of British dentistry', Ballard was one of the first members of the Central Health Services Council set up in 1946 to provide advice to the Government. Subsequently, the Standing Dental Advisory Committee – one of four which Aneurin Bevan set up in 1949 – continued to provide valuable professional advice to successive Ministers of Health until it was abolished by Alan Johnson in 2010.

Provides a history of the development of the dental advisory input to the UK health service.Describes how the Working Party on Orthodontics in the health service came to be set up in 1991.Shows that the discussions within the Working Party brought about changes in the delivery and improvement in the standard of UK orthodontic treatment.Suggests that the abolition of the Standing Dental Advisory Committee may have led to a deterioration in the communication between the dental profession and the Government.

Provides a history of the development of the dental advisory input to the UK health service.

Describes how the Working Party on Orthodontics in the health service came to be set up in 1991.

Shows that the discussions within the Working Party brought about changes in the delivery and improvement in the standard of UK orthodontic treatment.

Suggests that the abolition of the Standing Dental Advisory Committee may have led to a deterioration in the communication between the dental profession and the Government.