The number of dental care professionals (DCPs) on the UK register has increased this year, the General Dental Council (GDC) reports.
This follows last month’s annual renewal period, which recorded 75,905 DCPs on the register – a 5.7% increase from 2023, with 4,101 new registrants.
All DCP professions saw an increase in registrants with the exception of dental technicians, who had 88 fewer than in 2023. In addition, the profession with the highest percentage increase was dental therapists, which saw more than 22% more registrants on the UK register.
The renewal period also saw a decline in removals, with just 4.3% of DCPs not renewing their registration. This is notably lower than the average of 6.3% from the past four years.
Dental nurses had the most number of removals, with 2,875 not renewing their registration. Removals can occur for various reasons, including voluntary removal, non-payment, retirement and notification of death.
Useful benchmark
The GDC noted that while this data provides a benchmark for the number of UK-registered DCPs, it does not give insight into working patterns or whether the DCPs are providing private or NHS services. This data is expected to be published in Autumn 2024.
The regulator also stated: ‘While the register is constantly changing, what we invariably see (for both the dentist and DCP registers) is that over the course of the year, the number of registered professionals changes due to new registrations, and as professionals leave the register for a range of reasons.
‘Last year, we have made it easier for dental professionals to restore their name to the registers so that they can continue to practise in the UK.
‘This important change means that dental professionals who have been off the register for less than 12 months and have always complied with CPD, are able to sign a declaration that it is up to date, rather than send us a copy of their full CPD record. ’
You can find out more about these findings here.
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