UK expands registration routes to recruit more dentists

Dental Tribune International

Fri. 20. March 2026

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LONDON, England: The UK government has announced measures aimed at increasing the number of dentists able to practise, as part of a wider effort to improve patient access to care and tackle long-standing workforce shortages in dentistry. The initiative focuses primarily on expanding the capacity of professional registration examinations required for overseas-trained dentists.

At present, because places on the relevant examinations are limited, there is a backlog of qualified clinicians trained abroad who are awaiting examination. Under the new plans, the UK will significantly increase the number of places on two key assessments: the Licence in Dental Surgery examination, delivered by the Royal College of Surgeons of England, and the Overseas Registration Examination (ORE), administered by the General Dental Council.

Expanding these routes to registration is expected to enable substantially more overseas-trained dentists to join the professional register each year from 2028. Many of these clinicians are already living in the UK, but have been unable to practise while waiting for examination opportunities.

Speaking about the initiative and its capacity to partially mitigate the ongoing National Health Service (NHS) dental crisis, Minister of State for Care Stephen Kinnock remarked in a government press release: “No one in the twenty-first 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.”

Echoing the health minister’s remarks, Tom Whiting, chief executive and registrar at the General Dental Council, said: “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. More ORE places, along with more students at dental schools and the increase in capacity for the Licence in Dental Surgery, is great news for the dental workforce and, in turn, patients and the public.”

Alongside these international recruitment measures, the government has announced an increase in domestic dental training places. The expansion marks the first sustained growth in dental school capacity in nearly two decades and will focus on areas that have difficulty attracting and retaining dental professionals.

The reforms are part of a broader strategy to address gaps in access to NHS dentistry, which has faced mounting pressure from workforce shortages and difficulties securing appointments in many parts of the country. Officials said that improving routes into the profession and increasing training capacity will help rebuild the dental workforce over the coming years while supporting wider plans to reform NHS dental services and improve access to care.