Dentistry: Registration

(asked on 15th January 2024) - View Source

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to enable faster registration tracks for dentists who have been trained in other countries.


Answered by
Lord Markham Portrait
Lord Markham
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
This question was answered on 22nd January 2024

Currently, to be entered into the dentists register, an individual must hold a recognised United Kingdom dentistry qualification; a European Economic Area (EEA) or Swiss qualification recognised under European Union exit standstill arrangements; or they must pass the Overseas Registration Exam or License in Dental Surgery exam. Prior to January 2001, the General Dental Council (GDC) also recognised dentistry qualifications from a limited number of dental schools in specific countries outside the EEA, which is published on the GDC’s website in an online-only format.

Under legislative changes that came into force in March 2023, the GDC now has greater flexibility to amend routes to registration for dentists with overseas qualifications, including the power to recognise qualifications as sufficient for registration without further assessment. We will continue to discuss with the GDC how they can best utilise this new flexibility to enable suitably qualified dentists to enter the workforce as quickly and efficiently as possible.

Reticulating Splines