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Supervised Toothbrushing Services

NHS Devon Integrated Care Board (ICB)

This public procurement record has 2 releases in its history.

TenderUpdate

10 Sep 2026 at 12:14

Tender Notice
Award

27 Aug 2026 at 22:20

Award Notice
Summary of the contracting process

NHS Devon Integrated Care Board commissioned supervised toothbrushing services for nursery and reception-age children across Devon. The service provides supervised toothbrushing with fluoride toothpaste after lunch on each day children attend early-years education settings. Its purpose is to reduce dental decay and associated treatment needs among children at high risk of poor oral health, following NICE-recommended intervention. The work is a community dental and oral-health improvement service, classified under dental practice and related services. NHS Devon ICB is the commissioning organisation, supported by NHS South, Central and West Commissioning Support Unit on behalf of the commissioners. Delivery is across Devon, including nurseries and primary-school reception settings. The requirement also supports continuity while future commissioning arrangements and a transition to local-authority responsibility are developed.

The procurement has been formally awarded under the Health Care Services (Provider Selection Regime) Regulations 2023 using direct award process C, without a prior call for competition. NHS Devon ICB’s Procurement Oversight Group approved the award on 26 August 2026, the contract was signed on 27 August 2026, and At Home Dental was selected as supplier. The contract runs from 1 September 2026 to 31 August 2027, with an optional extension of up to one year. Its total value is £656,398.96. The decision used an 80% quality and 20% cost assessment, based principally on the incumbent provider’s performance and likely ability to meet the proposed requirement. One bid was recorded for the requirement.

This award demonstrates established demand from NHS Devon for a managed supervised-toothbrushing service delivered across early-years and reception settings. A credible future competitor would need practical capability to organise regular sessions across multiple education settings, train or support supervising staff, and provide fluoride-toothbrushing materials and safe operating arrangements. Experience in children’s oral-health improvement, dental services or public-health programmes would be relevant, particularly the ability to demonstrate measurable reductions in dental decay and reliable delivery for children at higher risk of poor oral health. Suppliers should also be able to evidence sound contract performance, quality assurance, safeguarding and effective coordination with nurseries, schools, commissioners and local authorities. The incumbent is an SME, showing that the requirement can be delivered by a focused specialist provider.

How relevant is this notice?

Notice Information

Notice Title

Supervised Toothbrushing Services

Notice Description

Supervised toothbrushing schemes for nursery and reception age children are evidence-based, effective interventions which reduce young children's experience of dental decay and their associated treatment needs. These schemes enable children in early years' education settings to brush their teeth with fluoride toothpaste after lunch each day they attend, under supervision from staff. Supervised toothbrushing is endorsed by NICE as a priority oral health improvement intervention in areas where children are at high risk of poor oral health, as specified in the following recommendations: * Recommendation 15: Consider supervised toothbrushing schemes for nurseries in areas where children are at high risk of poor oral health; * Recommendation 19: Consider supervised toothbrushing schemes for primary schools in areas where children are at high risk of poor oral health [PH55]. After conducting an assessment of the incumbent provider, taking into account the key criteria and applying the basic selection criteria, NHS Devon ICB is content that the existing provider is satisfying the original contract and will likely satisfy the proposed contract to a sufficient standard. All requirements under Regulation 6(5) have been met, including not breaching the considerable change threshold, and therefore direct award process C has been deemed the appropriate provider selection process. The service is anticipated to commence on the 1st of September 2026 for a contract duration of 1 year until the 31st August 2027 with an optional extension period of up to 1 year, with a total value of PS656,398.96. This transparency notice serves as an intention to award the contract to the incumbent provider, using direct award process C under the Provider Selection Regime (PSR). This process has been undertaken by NHS Devon ICB and supported by NHS South, Central and West Commissioning Support Unit (SCW) on behalf of the Commissioners.

Lot Information

Lot 1

Supervised toothbrushing schemes for nursery and reception age children are evidence-based, effective interventions which reduce young children's experience of dental decay and their associated treatment needs. These schemes enable children in early years' education settings to brush their teeth with fluoride toothpaste after lunch each day they attend, under supervision from staff. Supervised toothbrushing is endorsed by NICE as a priority oral health improvement intervention in areas where children are at high risk of poor oral health2, as specified in the following recommendations: * Recommendation 15: Consider supervised toothbrushing schemes for nurseries in areas where children are at high risk of poor oral health; * Recommendation 19: Consider supervised toothbrushing schemes for primary schools in areas where children are at high risk of poor oral health [PH55]. The new contract will run for 12 months and will provide continuity while future commissioning arrangements are developed. Oral health improvement is a local authority statutory responsibility, and the local authorities in Devon intend to take responsibility for commissioning the service in the future. The 12-month arrangement will provide time for the ICB and local authorities to complete a smooth transition and ensure that learning from the service over the past three to four years informs the future service model and planned competitive procurement. After conducting an assessment of the incumbent provider, taking into account the key criteria and applying the basic selection criteria, NHS Devon ICB is content that the existing provider is satisfying the original contract and will likely satisfy the proposed contract to a sufficient standard. All requirements under Regulation 6(5) have been met, including not breaching the considerable change threshold, and therefore direct award process C has been deemed the appropriate provider selection process. The service is anticipated to commence on the 1st of September 2026 for a contract duration of 1 year until the 31st August 2027 with an optional extension period of up to 1 year, with a total value of PS656,398.96. This transparency notice serves as an intention to award the contract to the incumbent provider, using direct award process C under PSR. This process has been undertaken by NHS Devon ICB supported by NHS South, Central and West Commissioning Support Unit (SCW) on behalf of the Commissioners.

Procurement Information

This is a Provider Selection Regime (PSR) intention to award notice. The awarding of this contract is subject to the Health Care Services (Provider Selection Regime) Regulations 2023. For the avoidance of doubt, the provisions of the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 do not apply to this award. The publication of this notice marks the start of the standstill period. Representations by providers must be made to the relevant authority by 9th September 2026. This contract has not yet formally been awarded; this notice serves as an intention to award under the PSR.

Notice Details

Publication & Lifecycle

Open Contracting ID
ocds-h6vhtk-06ee25
Publication Source
Find A Tender Service
Latest Notice
https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/085834-2026
Current Stage
Award
All Stages
Tender, Award

Procurement Classification

Notice Type
Tender Notice
Procurement Type
Standard
Procurement Category
Services
Procurement Method
Limited
Procurement Method Details
Award procedure without prior publication of a call for competition
Tender Suitability
Not specified
Awardee Scale
SME

Common Procurement Vocabulary (CPV)

CPV Divisions

85 - Health and social work services

CPV Codes

85130000 - Dental practice and related services

Notice Value(s)

Tender Value
Not specified
Lots Value
Not specified
Awards Value
Not specified
Contracts Value
£656,398 £500K-£1M

Notice Dates

Publication Date
10 Sep 20266 days ago
Submission Deadline
Not specified
Future Notice Date
Not specified
Award Date
Not specified
Contract Period
Not specified - Not specified
Recurrence
Not specified

Notice Status

Tender Status
Complete
Lots Status
Cancelled
Awards Status
Active
Contracts Status
Active

Buyer & Supplier

Contracting Authority (Buyer)

Main Buyer
NHS Devon Integrated Care Board (ICB)
Contact Name
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
Contact Email
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
Contact Phone
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →

Buyer Location

Locality
EXETER
Postcode
Not specified
Postcode Area
Not specified
Country
Not specified
Major Region (ITL 1)
Not specified
Basic Region (ITL 2)
Not specified
Small Region (ITL 3)
Not specified
Delivery Location
TLK4 Devon
Local Authority
Not specified
Electoral Ward
Not specified
Westminster Constituency
Not specified

Supplier Information

Number of Suppliers
1
Supplier Name

At Home Dental

Further Information

Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS)

View full OCDS Record for this contracting process

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The Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS) is a framework designed to increase transparency and access to public procurement data in the public sector. It is widely used by governments and organisations worldwide to report on procurement processes and contracts.

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