Dentistry: Migrant Workers

(asked on 1st February 2023) - View Source

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what his planned timetable is for implementing his policy on not registering overseas dentists as dental care professionals until they have passed the overseas registration examination.


Answered by
Neil O'Brien Portrait
Neil O'Brien
This question was answered on 10th February 2023

The Department does not hold the latest data on the average waiting time for overseas qualified dentists waiting to take the Overseas Registration Exam (ORE). This data is held by the General Dental Council (GDC).

The Department has worked with the GDC to develop and consult on legislative proposals to allow the regulator greater flexibility to amend its existing international registration processes and explore alternative registration pathways as it considers appropriate. We aim to introduce the legislative changes in February 2023.

It will be for the GDC, as an independent regulator, to decide how best to use the flexibility that these proposals allow. Following the legislative changes, we understand the GDC will consult on changes to how the ORE operates, which would enable it to increase the number of dentists it can assess, potentially allowing overseas dentists to join its register more quickly.


The Government and the GDC recognise dentists and dental care professionals (DCPs) as distinct professions. The Order amends the GDC’s legislation so that international dentist qualifications cannot on their own be used in support of an application to the DCP register, regardless of whether an applicant has sat the ORE. This change, which will apply once the Order comes into force, ensures consistency between the United Kingdom and international routes, since qualified dentists cannot apply to join the DCP register using their dentistry qualification.

The amendment enables the GDC to process applications from dentists to join the register as DCPs that are received up until the day before the Order comes into force. This ensures that any 'live' DCP title applications submitted before the legislation is passed will be processed.

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