Dr. Kartik Datla is a dentist and software enthusiast based in Berkshire, England. He specialises in endodontics, holding a PGCert from the University of Chester alongside his DMD from the University of Debrecen. He builds software tools for dental professionals, including UDA Pulse and the Dental Digest platform.

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How to Track UDAs — Complete Guide for NHS Dentists

Updated for the 2026/27 NHS dental contract · Last updated 19 May 2026

A complete, plain-English method for tracking NHS Units of Dental Activity in real time and preventing clawback — written for NHS associates, locum, salaried, and mixed practitioners in England. Two-minute setup, seconds per treatment thereafter. Free on iPhone and Android.

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How to track UDAs — 7 steps

The repeatable method below works on any NHS contract type (GDS or PDS) and for any practice type — NHS associate, salaried, locum, or mixed. Every step is supported in UDA Pulse on iPhone and Android.

  1. 1
    Set your annual UDA target
    Open UDA Pulse on iPhone or Android and enter your contracted UDAs per year, contract end date, and working pattern (sessions per week, holidays). The setup wizard takes about two minutes.
  2. 2
    Log each course of treatment as you complete it
    Tap the matching Band button — Band 1, 2a, 2b, 2c, or 3 — or use voice quick-add ("two Band 2s and a crown for 450"). Voice for NHS bands is free; works offline.
  3. 3
    Watch the progress ring
    Your dashboard shows today, this month, and year-to-date UDA delivery against target, with year-over-year comparison and pace alerts.
  4. 4
    Add a home-screen widget
    Pin a Today / Month / Year widget to your iPhone or Android home screen for at-a-glance pace between patients. Four sizes, custom colours.
  5. 5
    Cross-check against NHSBSA Compass
    Once a month, import your Compass DCS127, DCS129 or SD86c report so UDA Pulse reconciles with the official NHS figures.
  6. 6
    Spot clawback risk early
    UDA Pulse calculates the daily UDAs you need to stay above the 96% contract delivery threshold. If pace dips, the dashboard surfaces it weeks before a clawback letter would land.
  7. 7
    Review reports, tax and benchmarks
    Use Reports for monthly breakdowns, Tax Summary for income tax, NI, student loan and VAT estimates, and Business Insights for EHR, FTA, treatment-mix and NASDAL benchmarks.

What is a UDA?

A Unit of Dental Activity (UDA) is the accounting unit the NHS in England uses to value dental treatments and pay providers under the General Dental Services contract. A practice has a contracted number of UDAs to deliver each financial year (1 April – 31 March) and must deliver between 96% and 102% of that target to avoid clawback or wasted activity.

For plain-English explainers see the LDC Confederation "What is a UDA?" article and the BDA UDA Value Checker. For the official Band 2 sub-band guidance see NHSBSA.

2026/27 NHS contract UDA bands

Under the April 2026 NHS dental contract, the band values for a Course of Treatment are:

BandUDAsTypical treatment
Band 11Exam, X-rays, scale & polish (if clinically needed), prevention
Band 2a31–2 fillings, simple extractions
Band 2b5Multiple fillings, anterior endodontics, 3+ teeth needing extraction or filling
Band 2c7Molar endodontics, surgical extractions
Band 312Crowns, bridges, dentures, complex lab work
UrgentFlat fee£75 per urgent / unscheduled CoT (8.2% of contract value required)

Fissure sealants are now Band 2: 1–2 teeth = 3 UDA, 3+ teeth = 5 UDA. Always check the official NHS England contractual guidance for the most current rules.

How to prevent UDA clawback

Clawback occurs when an NHS dental contract delivers under 96% of its target UDAs and the shortfall is recovered from future NHS payments — typically between January and April. Five practical steps to prevent it:

  1. Track daily, not monthly. Monthly Compass reports are too slow to act on. Use a daily delivery view.
  2. Forecast per performer. Aggregating to clinic total hides under-performing associates whose shortfall drives the practice over the clawback line.
  3. Watch the daily-UDAs-required number. If pace dips and that figure climbs above your sustainable session rate, raise it with the associate or commissioner now — not in February.
  4. Use the 13-week early-warning window. Practices that flag risk by week 40 still have options (locum cover, hour adjustment, contract variation); after week 48, choices narrow sharply.
  5. Contact the Local Area Team early. NHS England has discretion to allow carry-forward of a shortfall to the next year if the practice is confident it can make it up.

UDA Pulse surfaces the daily-UDAs-required figure on the main dashboard for every contract you track, so clawback risk is visible from quarter one.

UDA Pulse vs Compass vs spreadsheets vs PMS reports

How a mobile-first UDA tracker compares to the tools most NHS associates use today.

UDA PulseNHSBSA CompassSpreadsheetsPMS reports
Real-time UDA trackingYes — instantLag of days–weeksManual updateSame-day, in-practice only
Native mobile app (iOS & Android)YesWeb onlyNoNo (web/desktop)
Works offlineYesNoIf local fileNo
Voice entryYes (offline)NoNoNo
Home-screen widgetsYes — 4 sizesNoNoNo
Multi-practice aggregateYesPer contractManualPer practice only
UK tax & VAT calculatorYesNoManualNo
No Compass / PMS login neededYesCompass loginLocalPMS login
PriceFree; £4.99/mo premiumIncluded with contractFreeBundled with PMS

Frequently asked questions

How do I track my UDAs?

The fastest method is to install a real-time mobile UDA tracker. With UDA Pulse: set your annual UDA target, log every course of treatment as you complete it (tap a Band button or use voice), and read the dashboard ring for today, month and year delivery against target. Once a month, import your NHSBSA Compass report (DCS127 / DCS129 / SD86c) to reconcile against the official NHS figures.

How can I prevent NHS UDA clawback?

Clawback happens when contract delivery falls below the 96% threshold and the shortfall is recovered from future NHS payments. To prevent it: (1) track UDA delivery daily, not monthly; (2) forecast by performer, not by clinic total; (3) watch the daily-UDAs-required figure — if it climbs sharply mid-year, that is your warning; (4) raise a contract variation with your Local Area Team early if delivery cannot be recovered. UDA Pulse surfaces the daily-UDAs-required number on the dashboard so the warning is visible from quarter one.

What are the 2026/27 UDA band values?

Under the April 2026 NHS dental contract: Band 1 = 1 UDA (exam, scale & polish, prevention); Band 2a = 3 UDA (1–2 fillings, simple extractions); Band 2b = 5 UDA (multiple fillings, anterior endo); Band 2c = 7 UDA (molar endo, surgical extractions); Band 3 = 12 UDA (crowns, bridges, dentures); Urgent treatment has a flat fee at the increased remuneration level of £75 per course. Fissure sealants were reclassified to Band 2 (1–2 teeth = 3 UDA, 3+ teeth = 5 UDA). Contractors must deliver 8.2% of contract value as urgent / unscheduled care.

Is there a mobile app for tracking dental UDAs?

Yes. UDA Pulse is the only NHS-focused UDA tracker available as a real native app on both iPhone and Android. It works offline, requires no Compass or PMS login, and is free to download. Premium features (multi-practice, benchmarks, automatic backup, PMS import) are £4.99/month.

Can I use UDA Pulse alongside Compass and my practice management system?

Yes — UDA Pulse is designed to sit alongside Compass and your PMS, not to replace them. You can import Compass reports (DCS127, DCS129, SD86c) and CSV exports from Dentally, EXACT (Software of Excellence), or SFD. The parser auto-detects format from column headers.

Does UDA Pulse work for salaried and locum dentists?

Yes. UDA Pulse has a session-logging mode for salaried and locum dentists. Log full-day, half-day or custom-hour sessions with day-rate tracking; the dashboard adapts to your practice type.

Is my UDA data private?

Yes. All data is stored locally on your device. No account is required, no patient data is collected, and nothing is sent to a server. Premium users get automatic daily backup to their device’s cloud-synced folder (iCloud / Google Drive). UDA Pulse complies with UK GDPR. You can export or delete your data at any time.

What is a UDA?

A Unit of Dental Activity (UDA) is the measure used by the NHS to value dental treatments in England. Band 1 = 1 UDA, Band 2 = 3 UDAs (with 2a / 2b / 2c sub-bands), Band 3 = 12 UDAs. NHS dental associates are typically contracted to deliver a set number of UDAs per year. Plain-English overview: LDC Confederation (ldc.org.uk/what-is-a-uda). Official band definitions: NHSBSA. Value benchmarks: BDA UDA Value Checker.

How do I get UDA Pulse?

Free on the App Store and Google Play. No account, no card details — open the app and run the 2-minute setup wizard.

Glossary

UDA
Unit of Dental Activity. The accounting unit used by the NHS in England to value dental treatments and pay providers.
Course of Treatment (CoT)
All treatment a patient needs in one continuous episode of care. A CoT is what is banded and counts for UDAs, not each individual procedure.
Band 1 / 2a / 2b / 2c / 3
NHS England dental treatment bands. Band 1 = 1 UDA; Band 2a = 3; Band 2b = 5; Band 2c = 7; Band 3 = 12.
Clawback
NHS recovery of payment when a practice delivers under 96% of its contracted UDAs. Deducted from future payments — typically January to April.
Compass
NHSBSA Compass — the official web system for NHS dental contract management, payments and UDA delivery reporting.
FP17
The form NHS dentists submit per CoT to claim UDAs. Has a 62-day submission window from treatment completion.
NHSBSA
NHS Business Services Authority — the body that operates Compass and processes NHS dental payments.
GDS
General Dental Services contract — the standard NHS England dental contract type that uses UDAs.
PDS
Personal Dental Services contract — an alternative NHS England contract type, often with bespoke terms.
DCS127 / DCS129 / SD86c
NHSBSA Compass report types — schedule of payments, contract performance, and UDA delivery breakdowns.
NASDAL
National Association of Specialist Dental Accountants & Lawyers — the source of the dental industry benchmarks shown in UDA Pulse.

In-app feature chapters

For deep dives on specific features — voice quick-add, widgets, multi-practice, tax & VAT, PMS import, FP17 deadlines and more — open the long-form chapter guide below or download the printable PDF.

Open the full chapter guideNHS Contract Guide 2026/27
  • Quick Start — download, set up, log first entry in 2 minutes
  • Dashboard — progress ring, today's earnings, year-over-year, multi-practice aggregate
  • Logging Treatments — NHS bands, private, Reg 11, FTA, voice entry
  • Voice Quick Add — "two Band 2s" / "Band 1 and a crown for 450"
  • Home-Screen Widgets — 4 sizes, custom colours, Today / Month / Year
  • Session Logging — salaried & locum
  • Reports & Analytics — monthly summaries, multi-year trends, shareable cards
  • Business Insights & NASDAL Benchmarks — EHR, treatment mix, FTA rate, CPD
  • Tax & VAT — income tax, NI, student loan, personal allowance taper, VAT monitoring
  • Data Import & Backup — Dentally, EXACT, SFD, automatic cloud backup
  • NHSBSA Compass Reports — DCS127, DCS129, SD86c
  • FP17 Deadline Tracker — never miss the 62-day window
  • Common Mistakes — banding, claims, contract delivery
  • Free vs Premium — what's in each tier
  • Tips & Shortcuts — undo, batch entry, PMS import

Start tracking your UDAs today

Free on iPhone and Android · No account · Works offline

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Created by Dr Kartik Datla · Last updated 19 May 2026

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