๐จ Important: The information in this article is in accordance with NHS guidance - the rest of our Help Centre will be updated in due course. For more details of the changes and the most up-to-date information, please refer to the NHS directly. Share your feedback on the changes here.
What happens for treatments which start before/after April 1st?
๐ก Top tip: See our full breakdown for everything that's changing in Dentally to support the NHS April 1st changes.
From April 1st, NHS Wales moved from the UDA system to the Care Package system. Please refer directly to the NHS for more guidance on what this means and how it works.
In Dentally, we have supported this change, allowing you to continue processing UDA claims for treatments closed before April 1st 2026, and then switching to Care Packages with immediate effect from April 1st onwards. How you will be paid depends on when the treatment plan is started and completed.
For treatment plans which start and end before April 1st 2026
For treatment plans completed before April 1st, you can submit the corresponding claims up until 31st May 2026, in the same way as you did before.
For all treatment plans completed before April 1st, your patients will be charged according to the UDA model, and you will be paid according to the UDA model.
Rejected claims can be resubmitted as normal up until 31st May 2026.
Treatment plans completed from April 1st onwards cannot be submitted in this way.
For treatment plans which start before April 1st 2026 and end after
Treatment plans started before April 1st, and completed on or after this date, must be submitted using the Care Package model, even if some of the work was completed before this date.
For these treatment plans which span April 1st, you will be paid according to the Care Package model, while your patients will only have to pay UDA band prices (if the treatment acceptance date falls before April 1st).
You do not have to rush to complete treatment plans prior to April 1st (which is what previous guidance stated). As far as we have been told by NHS Wales, there are no time restrictions for how quickly plans need to be completed, providing the course of treatment is still ongoing.
On April 1st, all open treatment plans will immediately transfer to Care Packages in Dentally. This may require you to input additional details before submitting, which you wouldn't have had to provide previously, eg. lab fees and warranty details. Ensure you have checked these details carefully before submitting, for all plans which started before April 1st and completed after it.
๐จ Important: This guidance may be different to guidance you heard previously, due to the NHS changing their approach. Please ensure you have read the above carefully.
Please note that the latest Case Studies document issued by the Welsh Government states that New Patient Assessment Care Packages must be claimed by themselves and ahead of other treatment. This information contradicts the latest technical specification documents we have been provided with. It is our understanding that until the Compass system is replaced, this Care Package may be submitted alongside other Care Packages. Please contact the NHS directly for any further guidance.
For treatment plans which start and end after April 1st 2026
From April 1st onwards, claims must be submitted under the new Care Packages model. UDAs will cease to exist completely, and treatment plans will automatically show Care Packages.
We will be adding details into the chart screen, to show clinicians the Care Package details as they are charting.
This will automatically determine, based on the items you have charted and the patient's details, which Care Package the treatment plan would fall under.
If your NHS treatments are already configured correctly, we will automatically align these with Care Packages so you don't need to do anything.
You will be able to submit Care Package claims immediately from April 1st, for treatments started and completed from that date forwards.
We will share more information very soon on how CIare Packages will look and work in Dentally - please keep an eye on your in-app messages over the coming weeks.
๐จ Important: Previous NHS guidance noted that you could submit multiple claims for the same treatment plan. NHS Wales have now communicated that this is no longer possible, so we will not be able to provide this in Dentally either. All treatments on the plan must be completed and submitted in a single claim at the end, under a single practitioner. You will be able to deselect any Care Packages you do not wish to claim for within that treatment plan, but in accordance with current NHS rules, once submitted, it will not be possible to submit a second claim for the remaining packages later on.
Health Boards within Wales have the option to set different sub-targets on the Annual Contract Value (ACV) of the new contracts, so it's important to make sure that you are aware of these targets and keep track of them. We hope to be able to support target tracking within Dentally in the future, but in the meantime you will need to track these yourselves.
๐ Please note: Due to the amount of time provided by NHS Wales to implement these changes, we have prioritised updates which enable stability and patient safety. We will continue to develop these areas over the coming months - you can share your feedback to help us identify what to prioritise next.