The UK government has announced a major step toward resolving its dentist shortage.
By massively expanding capacity for professional registration exams, officials aim to unlock a backlog of over 5,000 overseas-trained dentists waiting to join the General Dental Council (GDC) register and start treating patients, including under the NHS.
The announcement centers on two main pathways for overseas dentists to qualify:
- The Licence in Dental Surgery (LDS) exam, run by the Royal College of Surgeons of England, will see final exam places increase nearly tenfold – from 180 to 1,800 by 2028. Backed by a one-off £420,000 government grant, this could allow up to 1,350 overseas dentists to register annually by 2028.
- The GDC’s Overseas Registration Exam (ORE) clinical component will expand significantly to 1,500 places, projecting more than 1,000 additional registrations per year via this route by 2028/29.
Combined, the changes could bring 2,400 more overseas-trained dentists onto the register annually starting in 2028/29 – many already residing in the UK and eager to contribute to the strained system.
“No one in the 21st century should be left in a situation where they cannot access a dentist. That is why today’s announcement is crucial, as training more dentists and allowing greater numbers of those qualified overseas to practise will put more patients in dental chairs, receiving care when they need it most,” said Health Minister Stephen Kinnock.
“These investments show this government is serious about rebuilding NHS dentistry and laying the foundations to make it fit for the future.”
Why there’s a backlog of dentists
The backlog stemmed primarily from limited exam slots. The ORE and LDS are rigorous requirements to ensure patient safety and equivalent standards, but capacity constraints, sometimes as low as a few hundred spots per sitting, created years-long waits.
Reports from 2025 highlighted overseas dentists, including those from countries like Albania, India, and Egypt, working in unrelated jobs such as fast-food outlets while stuck in the queue, exacerbating personal financial strain and the national shortage.
Eni Muco, an Albanian-qualified dentist who moved to the UK in 2021, shared her experience: “I qualified as a dentist in Albania in 2013 and ran my own practice before moving to the UK in 2021… I joined the ORE candidate list in 2023 but, after seven failed attempts to book Part 1, I still can’t sit the exam. The uncertainty has caused financial strain, anxiety and difficult family decisions.”
Stakeholders have welcomed the move.
Dr Charlotte Eckhardt from the Royal College of Surgeons of England said that the LDS expansion would support more candidates, strengthen the dental workforce, and help improve public access to dentistry.
“Our top priority has been to increase the capacity of the ORE, and I’m pleased that we can offer greater certainty and scale through this new contract. This is good news for candidates and, in turn, patients and the public,” said Tom Whiting, Chief Executive and Registrar at the GDC.
Leave a Reply