NHS Wales 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 - April 1st 2026 - FAQs

New treatments being added for everyone:

Treatments that we are updating to new categories, where possible (if you are not using our default treatments for these, you will need to update your custom treatments accordingly):

The "prep only" categories and treatments exist to enable claiming a Care Package when only prep work, but not the actual fitting, has been completed. Note that the "Crown (prep only)" category will generate the Crown and Bridge Care Package, so can be used for Crowns, Bridges, Onlays, Inlays, and Veneers.

Treatments previously set as as the Other ("9399") NHS Treatment Category will all have their categories updated in order to prevent them generating Miscellaneous Care Packages incorrectly. To support this, we have introduced a new NHS Treatment Category of "NHS Note". Treatments that we are unable to match to one of the new NHS Treatment Category will be set to "NHS Note". Any treatment linked to this category will not generate a care package or be transmitted to the NHS as part of the claim, but can be used for recording information on the chart as the "Other" category was previously commonly used.
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All of the new treatments we have created will have a "Category" of "NHS Wales April 2026", and an "NHS Treatment Category" matching the individual treatment (eg. the Stabilisation Treatment is linked to a new Stabilisation NHS Treatment Category). This means that the new treatments will be easy to locate by using the filter in the 'Settings', and can be modified/renamed providing that the NHS Treatment Category remains the same, as that is what's used to determine which Care Package to generate.

When you open a treatment plan and chart any NHS item for a patient who has not had a (non-urgent) claim in the last 3 years at this practice, you'll see a banner asking whether this is a New Urgent Referral. Toggling this banner to 'Yes' will update the Care Packages to show the Urgent Care Package and set the claim up to submit correctly.

In rare cases, eg. if this person has been a patient at this practice previously, but has still been referred, the banner will not show. In this case, you can proceed to the 'Submit Claim' screen and select the referral source from there. Returning to the chart will now show the Urgent Care Package and corresponding patient charge.

Simply chart any work that you would have performed (eg. an exam), and mark the patient as a New Urgent Referral. Without marking the charted treatments as complete, you will be able to proceed to the 'Submit Claim' screen and the correct package will be claimed.

Each valid urgent referral claim event is processed on its own basis, including 'Did not attend' handling where applicable. If you are uncertain about the repeat referral payment policy for specific local pathways (whether a you would be paid twice if a patient is referred, doesn't attend, and is referred again), confirm with the NHS/ your Health Board.

In the unlikely event that the patient is not identified as a new patient, and the banner offering to mark the plan as a New Urgent Referral does not show, please temporarily mark any charted item as completed to unlock the 'Submit Claim' button. Once viewing the claim details, you will be able to set the referral source to New Urgent Referral, and return to the chart where the banner will now show. Simply unmark the treatment as completed, and proceed to submit the claim as normal.

With the corresponding item expanded on the patient's chart, use the 'Labs' tab to record the price of lab items. Labs can be marked as either NHS or Private. Eligible exemptions will apply to NHS labs, but the patient will always be invoiced for private ones regardless of their exemption status.

You must enter lab fees for appropriate items, as NHSBSA are recording these even when not responsible for the payment.

Labs for items marked as being performed under warranty will automatically have their charge type set to Private as these items are not covered by the NHS. For warranty work, if you do not wish to charge the item through to the patient, please do not enter the lab price at all.

The NHS have advised that you should wait until the lab fee amount is known before submitting the claim (after you receive the invoice). If the lab fees change, you can add additional lab items to the treatment plan to top up to the correct amount - when a claim is submitted, it only transmits the total lab fee amount to the NHS, not the individual items you added.

NHS Wales will cover up to their tariff amount. Should the cost of the lab exceed this, you are only eligible to claim for the tariff amount, so must enter the lower amount of the tariff or actual charge.

HC3 certificates have a set amount, and cover the patient's care first, and then lab fees after. If the HC3 does not fully cover the cost of the care plus the lab fee, the difference will be charged. We will calculate this remaining amount in Dentally, and you should charge in the same way.

The NHS will only cover "standard" lab options, with the patient expected to pay for the uplift to a more expensive option should they choose one. In order for this to be charged and claimed correctly, you must record the price of the NHS-approved lab with a charge type of 'NHS', and then record a second lab for the uplift amount. The second lab must have a charge type set to 'Private' for it to be invoiced directly to the patient.

When charting, you'll see a new dropdown under the expanded treatment item, called 'Under Warranty'. If the work is being performed free of charge under warranty, use this drop-down box to select which warranty package to claim. Once selected, you will also need to select the 'Warranty Period' that applies; either 12 or 24 months depending on when the original work was performed.
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Please only enter lab fees for warranty work if the lab is being charged to the patient. Labs associated with work are ineligible to be part of the claim.

If the course started before 1 April 2026 but finishes after 1 April, you still submit it as a Care Package claim. The patient charge stays based on the old pre-April banded advice for that course. You should still enter the lab fees for these patients, and in this transitional scenario the NHS will pay those lab fees even where the patient is not exempt, because the patient charge is fixed to the previous band charge. This is a transitional-course scenario only.

Dentally does not currently auto-determine warranty eligibility (for example, whether the original item was urgent or non-urgent). The warranty fields default to 'N/A', so if a treatment is being completed within warranty, you'll need to update the details manually where applicable.

NHS Wales has introduced distinct Care Packages for New Patient Assessment, Recall Exam, and 18-24 Month Recall Exam. We have automatically added treatments for these items, but you're welcome to adjust them in your settings should you wish to rename them. Charting any one of these new examination types will automatically add the correct Care Package to the claim.

If the old exam code remains on the plan, Dentally is likely to treat it as a recall-type exam rather than a New Patient Assessment package. Update the charted exam treatment so the claim maps correctly to New Patient Assessment where appropriate; in practice this can involve uncharging/replacing the exam treatment and copying the notes across without changing clinical content. As NHS guidance on this specific edge case is limited, confirm local interpretation with the NHS or your Health Board where required.

While stabilisation may consist of multiple individual treatments, in order to add the Stabilisation Care Package to the claim, you must specifically chart the 'Stabilisation' treatment so Dentally knows that you wish to claim for it. We have added this to your treatment list for this purpose.

The Stabilisation Care Package will allow 4 specific treatment codes (Non-surgical Extraction, Permanent Fillings, Endodontics - Molar, Endodontics - Non-molar) to be included without generating separate Care Packages. When charted without the Stabilisation treatment, it will continue to create the usual Care Packages.

If a course of treatment is not completed, you can still receive full payment for all Care Packages that have been started. Dentally will automatically identify whether all treatment items in a Care Package are complete or not, and mark the claim as including incomplete work if applicable. For most Care Packages, if no item in the package has been completed, then the package cannot be claimed.

This is not true in cases where prep work has been completed but the patient doesn't return to have the item fitted. To help with this, we have introduced new NHS Treatment Categories:

Completing a treatment that is linked to one of these categories will automatically make the corresponding Care Package eligible for charging and claiming. We've automatically updated the Treatment Category for the default Impression & Prep treatments. If you have created custom ones, please update them to use these new categories, so you don't have to chart a new treatment every time. The Care Packages will then automatically become eligible to be claimed as soon as the prep work is completed.
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Please note that an incomplete Extensive Restorative package cannot be claimed unless work has been completed on more than 4 teeth. A Simple Restorative Care Package will show on the claim screen instead.

There are circumstances where you may wish to not claim for a Care Package even if the work has been started (or completed). In these cases, you are able to deselect Care Packages from the claim screen. Neither the Care Package nor the Clinical Data Set items that fall into it will be transmitted to the NHS.

In order to exclude the Care Package from being charged through to the patient, please make sure to charge for the other work prior to completing the items that form the Care Package you do not wish the patient to be charged for.

Submitting a claim containing over £1000 of lab fees will typically be rejected by the NHS. In order to successfully submit the claim, the 'Commissioner Approved' checkbox must be ticked on the claim.

Each Crown and Bridge Care Package covers up to two "units", where one unit is a crown, inlay, onlay, veneer or bridge retainer. Dentally will automatically calculate the correct number of packages to claim - however, in order to count the number of bridge retainers correctly, you must ensure that your charted treatments are correctly differentiating between retainers and pontics. To facilitate this, we have added a new NHS Treatment Category of 'Bridge(s) Fitted (Retainer)' which should be selected against items that increase the number of retainers present. In other words, you will need to chart a different item for a bridge and retainer.

NHSBSA should be able to provide the canonical code list. We will display returned applicable rejection/error/comment outputs for any claims submitted.

NHSBSA advised that this Care Package will not be supported on claims until at least the end of April 2026. They have requested that any claims containing a Trauma Related Injury item should be held back until you receive notice that they have updated Compass to support them. As the new contracts allow claiming for work completed up until the 20th April 2027, you do not need to worry about claims timing out in this time.

This is an error on the part of the NHS. In some cases they are incorrectly rejecting claims which include an Exam Care Package (New Patient or Recall), with the error 'Inappropriate free exam exemption'. This requires them to fix it on their end - once they have done so, we will resubmit affected claims automatically, so you do not need to do anything.

See our dedicated guide for a breakdown of how you will be paid for treatment plans depending on when they are started and completed.

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 work in this area over the coming months and hope to provide reporting specifically to help track towards the new ACV targets - but for now this won't be possible within Dentally.

Dentally will calculate this automatically for you based on the patient's age on the date of acceptance of the treatment plan - there is no need for you to chart different treatments or calculate the charge yourself.

This Care Package has no expected practice fee as it is covered by the capitation percentage on the new contracts. The NHS has advised that it should be claimed for when a recall examination is performed on a patient who previously had a recall interval selected of between 18 and 24 months, regardless of the amount of time since the last recall exam had been performed.

While Regulation 11 has been removed for General Dental claims, there is no replacement in Wales at this point. Please chart the work as normal, and the correct Care Packages will be claimable:

The NHS will pay for the work, including the lab fees for exempt patients.

The Case Studies document issued by the Welsh Government states that exempt patients will need to pay for their lab fees directly. This is contradictory to the latest technical specification documents we have been provided with. We have been informed that Compass will credit the lab fees to the practice for exempt patients, so these patients should not be charged. Please contact the NHS directly for any further guidance.

The NHS have confirmed to us that the Exam Only exemption applies if there is only an examination Care Package on a treatment plan. Should the treatment plan generate additional Care Packages, the exemption no longer applies and both the patient charge for the examination (eg. Recall or New Patient Assessment) becomes chargeable, in addition to the charges for any other Care Packages.
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Dentally will automatically remove the Exam Only exemption when a treatment is charted that generates an additional Care Package.

Yes. There are no changes to how ACORNs are completed as part of the April 1st 2026 Dental Reforms. While NHS Wales and the Welsh Government have previously communicated to practices that ACORNs may be automated in the future, they have not made this part of the Dental Reforms. Please continue to complete ACORN assessments in the same way as before.

The NHS Treatment Plan Estimate template in Dentally is the preferred option for providing a treatment plan. This is laid out to show package charges and lab fees under the new system. There is a new FP17 paper form, but Dentally does not overprint this as before.

If the treatment is different from the last one, this should be treated as a new course of treatment, with a new treatment plan and a new claim.