Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what comparative assessment he has made of the processes in place for dentists from overseas who wish to set up in (a) private practice and (b) the NHS.

The General Dental Council (GDC) is the independent regulator of dentistry in the United Kingdom. Only dentists and dental care professionals registered with the GDC can legally practise dentistry, both within the National Health Service and privately, in the UK. Routes to registration as a dentist in the UK are set out in the GDC’s legislation, The Dentists Act 1984. In 2023, the Department introduced legislative changes to give the GDC greater flexibility to expand and improve its registration processes for overseas-qualified dentists.

In 2024, the Department consulted on introducing legislation that would give the GDC powers to provisionally register overseas-qualified dentists. Individuals holding provisional registration would be able to work as a dentist under supervision whilst seeking to demonstrate the required knowledge and skill for full registration. Our position on this proposal will be set out in due course.

To work under an NHS primary care dental services contract, a dentist must join the NHS Dental Performers List (DPL). All dentists wishing to join the DPL in England must show they have either completed UK Dental Foundation Training or demonstrate equivalence to foundation training via the competence assessment route. In 2023, the competence assessment route was streamlined, enabling individuals to practise NHS dentistry more quickly by providing for applicants’ specific clinical knowledge and skills to be assessed, and for more tailored support to be put in place. Dentists providing private treatment are not required to be on the DPL.

The Government plans to expand access to NHS dental care with a rescue plan to provide 700,000 more urgent dental appointments and to recruit new dentists to areas that need them most. To rebuild dentistry in the long term, and increase access to NHS dental care, the Government plans to reform the dental contract with a shift to focus on prevention and the retention of NHS dentists.