With a shortfall in the dental workforce continuing to leave millions without care, the Association of Dental Groups (ADG) is calling for urgent reforms to speed up registration for foreign-trained dentists in the United Kingdom.
“We need to unlock the barriers preventing the 6,000 fully trained overseas dentists in the registration queue from practising in the UK, as a matter of urgency,” said Neil Carmichael, executive chair of the ADG. “It is a shameful waste to have them flipping burgers in our fast food restaurants when they could be caring for patients.”
‘Dental crisis’
The ADG, which represents 28 dental groups operating more than 2,000 practices and employing around 10,000 clinicians, released a new report titled Creating Dental Oases this week. It was sent to Members of Parliament to highlight what the group calls a national “dental crisis.”
According to the ADG, more than 4.5 million patients a year are missing out on dental care due to staffing shortages. More than 3,000 dentist vacancies remain unfilled across both the National Health Service and private sectors.
Carmichael urged the General Dental Council (GDC) to reform the Overseas Registration Examination (ORE), the main route for overseas-qualified dentists to register and practise in the UK. “At the current rate of 600 places per sitting, it will take years to clear the backlog,” he said.
The ORE is a two-part exam administered by the GDC. Those who pass are eligible to apply for full registration in the UK.
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Dentist: My job title is ‘sandwich artist’
Carmichael cited the case of Ahmed, an Egyptian dentist with a master’s degree in dental implantology, who has been working part-time as a dental nurse and in a fast-food restaurant while waiting to complete his GDC registration. He first applied in 2022.
“He is having to work in McDonald’s cleaning the lavatories because he can’t get through the ORE,” said Carmichael. “This is crazy and should be our number one priority.”
Another foreign-trained dentist, Shoaib Saiyed, is employed at a Subway restaurant in Birmingham.
“I am a fully trained dentist with 10 years’ experience, but right now my job title is ‘sandwich artist,’” he said. “I just want to prove myself. I don’t understand why the GDC doesn’t offer provisional registration, so we can be tried and tested.”