Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if her Department will make an assessment of the potential impact of equalising dentistry training requirements between the private sector and NHS on (a) NHS budgets and (b) the NHS dentistry workforce.

The Government’s priority is to ensure that all dentists practising in the United Kingdom are suitably qualified. The General Dental Council (GDC) is responsible for regulating dentistry qualifications and dental professionals within the UK dental register. Only dentists and dental care professionals registered with the GDC can legally practise dentistry in the UK, which applies to both National Health Service and private dentists.

In order to deliver NHS dentistry services, dentists must also be included on the Dental Performers List (DPL) managed by NHS England. To be included on the DPL, dentists must complete post-registration dental foundation training, or undertake a structured induction process managed by NHS England.

We are working on our Dentistry Recovery Plan which will address how we continue to improve access, particularly for new patients, and how we make NHS work more attractive to ensure that NHS dentists are incentivised to deliver NHS care.