The total number of dental professionals registered by the General Dental Council (GDC) has increased according to newly-released statistics.
The regulator’s Registration Statistical Report for 2024 showed a total of 125,736 on the register at the end of 2024. This had increased from 120,030 in December 2023.
Among the registrants were 46,362 dentists and 79,374 dental care professionals (DCPs). There were 9,888 additions to the register in 2024 – 2,164 dentists and 7,724 DCPs.
The largest rise was in dental therapists, which had seen an increase of 23.5% with 1,402 new registrations. There were also 921 newly registered dental hygienists – an increase of 9.6%. The dental nurse pool had risen by a smaller margin of 5.4%, but this represents 3,349 newly added dental nurses.
On the other hand, the number of dental technicians had declined for the fifth year in a row. The 5,025 registered technicians is 10% lower than the figure seen in 2020.
Despite this, GDC executive director of regulation Theresa Thorpe found the statistics ‘encouraging’. She said: The significant growth we’ve seen in registered dental professionals throughout 2024 is encouraging news for dental services across the UK. However, the continued decline in dental technicians for the fifth consecutive year remains a concern that requires attention from the wider dental sector.’
How has the demographic of the dental profession changed?
The report also considers the demographics of professionals on the register. More than half (53%) of dentists who joined the register were UK-qualified, while 16% came through the Overseas Registration Exam (ORE). The remaining 30% qualified outside of the UK.
Theresa Thorpe continued: ‘The report highlights the diversity of routes through which dental professionals are joining the register. Our teams have processed a record number of applications and we’re seeing the results of our ongoing work to maintain efficient registration processes.’
More than three quarters (78%) of the dental register identify as female, though the proportion of women much higher among DCPs. While 93% of registered DCPs are female, the percentage of dentists was lower at 53%.
The most female-dominated registrant group was dental nurses. Making up more than half of the dental workforce, 97% of dental nurses are female.
Three quarters of DCPs and 47% of dentists said they were from a white ethnic group. One in three dentists are of Asian or Asian British ethnic origin – three times higher than the UK average.
The full report can be found here.
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