• “course of treatment” means—

  1. a

     an examination of a patient, an assessment of that patient’s oral health, and the planning of any treatment to be provided to that patient as a result of that examination and assessment; and

  2. b

     the provision of any planned treatment (including any treatment planned at a time other than at the time of the initial examination) to that patient up to the date on which—

     1. i

        each and every component of the planned treatment has been provided to the patient, or

     2. ii

        the patient either voluntarily withdraws from, or is withdrawn by the provider from, treatment,

  by, unless the context otherwise requires, one or more providers of primary dental services, except that it does not include the provision of any orthodontic services or dental public health services and, where the course of treatment is an interim care course of treatment provided under a Capitation and Quality Scheme 2 Agreement in the context of regulation 13A of the NHS Charges Regulations (charges in respect of primary dental services provided under a Capitation and Quality Scheme 2 Agreement), it does not include the treatment mentioned in sub-paragraph (a);.

3

Where a patient is referred by the contractor for advanced mandatory services to another provider of primary dental services, the appropriate number of units of dental activity provided by—

a

that contractor; and

b

the other provider of primary dental services, if that provider is also a contractor,

must be calculated on the basis of the components of the course of treatment which they actually provide, notwithstanding that the treatment constitutes a single banded course of treatment for charging purposes.