Total number of registered UK dentists up 3%

The number of dentists on the UK Register, following the recent annual renewal period, has increased again when compared to recent years.

On the morning after removals, there were 45,580 dentists on the Register. This is a 3.10% increase compared to last year with 1,371 more dentists on the register.

This year, 793 dentists did not renew their registration, compared to 1,004 in 2024, which is 1.7% of those on the Register on 31 December. This compares to an average of 2.5% over the previous four years.

¹Register count in week following the renewal period. 
²Reasons for removal include voluntary removal, non-payment, retirement, and notifications of death.  

Writing on its website, the General Dental Council said:

“These figures provide a useful benchmark for the total number of dentists registered in the UK. 

“While we recognise there are important issues of concern, including access to NHS dental services and significant ongoing recruitment challenges in some areas, it is important to note that this data does not provide insight into the number of professionals working in different patterns (e.g. full time vs part time), how many dentists are working in NHS services compared to private practice, local workforce conditions, or the numbers of professionals working in different roles (e.g. academic). 

“However, as we did in 2024, we have gathered data about the work dentists do, including the number of hours they are working, whether they are working in the NHS or privately, and in clinical or non-clinical roles. We will publish these figures later in Q1 once the analysis is complete. The data collected last year has already provided invaluable insights about the working patterns of dentists (and DCPs as part of their annual renewal). We expect the working patterns data collected this year will again provide further insights that will help inform workforce discussions and planning.

“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. ”

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