Almost 4,000 more dentists registered in UK since 2021 

Almost 800 dentists removed from GDC register despite 3% increase overall

The GDC has released its annual registration figures which show that the number of dentists registered in the UK has increased by 3%.

There were 45,580 dentists on the register once removals had taken place. This is an increase of 1,371 dentists or 3.1% from last year.

The registration numbers have been increasing steadily for the past five years. Each year, the number of registered dentists stood at:

  • 2021 – 41,863 
  • 2022 – 42,215 
  • 2023 – 43,130 
  • 2024 – 44,209 
  • 2025 – 45,580.

The number of dentists who did not renew their registration was significantly lower than in 2024, at 793 compared to 1,004. This was also the lowest figure in the past five years. In 2025, 1.7% of dentists did not renew their registration. The percentage has previously ranged between 2.3% and 2.9% since 2021.

Reasons for removal include voluntary removal, non-payment of the annual retention fee (ARF), retirement and notifications of death.

Dentists’ working patterns

The GDC said: ‘While the register is constantly changing, what we invariably see (for both the dentist and dental care professional registers) is that over the course of the year, the number of registered professionals increases due to new registrations, and then that number drops at the point of renewal as professionals leave the Register for a range of reasons. ’

However it noted that this data ‘does not provide insight into the number of professionals working in different patterns’. For example, it does not address how many registrants are working full time or part time, or the balance of NHS and private work.

The regulator said it had gathered more detailed information around working patterns, NHS versus private dentistry and clinical versus non-clinical roles. The findings of this investigation are due to be released later in Q1.

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