The analysis benefits from responses from 24,928 dentists – representing 55 per cent of all registered dentists – who completed the working patterns survey as part of their annual renewal in 2023.
The significant response rate enabled the GDC to develop detailed insights into various aspects of dental practice across the UK.
The regulator released the results for dentists in March 2024 and for dental care professionals in October 2024.
Theresa Thorp, executive director of regulation at the GDC, said, "This release marks a further milestone in understanding the dental workforce landscape. We're particularly grateful to all the dentists who participated in the survey; their input has been instrumental in creating valuable insights to better inform future workforce planning and policy discussions.
“For the first time, we have firm evidence of how dentists are deploying their skills across different practice settings and geographical areas. These insights will be instrumental in addressing the sector's pressing workforce challenges."
The analysis revealed:
- Most dentists who completed the working patterns questions were working in clinical roles
- Female dentists were more likely to be delivering NHS clinical care than their male counterparts
- Early career dentists who had been on the register for less than five years were more likely to be delivering NHS clinical work compared with dentists who had been on the register for longer
- Dentists working in Scotland had the highest proportion of respondents working in clinical NHS practice
- Almost three-quarters of dentists (72 per cent) working in general dental practice were self-employed
- Most dentists work within a single UK country, with minimal cross-border work
The GDC said the publication delivers on its commitment to provide a more detailed analysis of the initial data release and to support broader discussions about the future of dental services in the UK.