Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of introducing a new provisional registration status for overseas-qualified dentists whose qualifications are not automatically recognised by General Dental Council.

The Government is determined to rebuild National Health Service dentistry, and strengthening the workforce is key to our ambitions. Dentists that meet our high standards should be able to enter the workforce efficiently, and we are exploring the best ways to achieve this, including whether there is merit to the introduction of a provisional registration status for overseas-qualified dentists.