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UK Dentists

UK Dentists	Become a Dentist In England	Dentist Job Description

Dentists Qualified Overseas
Dentists qualified outside of the UK

In order to practise in the UK dentists must register with the regulatory authority, the General Dental Council (GDC), and ensure that they have the right to work in the UK. Dentists from the EEA with a primary qualification specified in the relevant EC Directive are able to register with the General Dental Council and practice in the UK on the basis of that qualification. Dentists from outside the EEA are required to pass an International Qualifying Examination to register with the General Dental Council. Dentists qualified form overseas must confirm the status of their registration and the documentation required for registration with the GDC before they travel to the UK.

General Dental Council (GDC)
37 Wimpole Street
London
W1G 8DQ
Tel: 020 7887 3800
Website: www.gdc-uk.org

On 1 January 2001 new regulations for the Councils statutory examination, the International Qualifying Examination (IQE), came into force.

The object of the IQE is to test the knowledge and skill of dentists whose primary qualifications are not recognised for full registration with the Council. Entitlement for registration is gained by successfully completing the examination, which is held at UK Dental Schools.

Those dentists who are neither nationals of EEA (European Economic Area) States nor entitled to be treated no less favourably than EEA nationals, will be required to produce an original certificate showing a minimum score of 7.0 in each individual section of the academic International English Language Testing System (IELTS) before they can enter for the IQE. This certificate will be valid for three years.

Details about IELTS may be obtained from the:

British Council (IELTS Enquiries)
Bridgewater House
58 Whitworth Street
Manchester
M1 6BB
UK .
Tel: 0161 957 7755
Fax: 0161 9577762
E-mail: ielts@britishcouncil.org
Website: www.ielts.org

The IQE is in three parts:

Part A comprises written and oral examinations in the basic sciences and human diseases and an oral examination in clinical dentistry;

Part B consists of an operative test on a dental manikin; and

Part C contains written papers in all aspects of dentistry, an examination in clinical dentistry, an oral examination in general dentistry, a practical clinical examination and an examination in medical emergencies.

Parts must be taken consecutively.
All written examinations take the form of MSAs (Multiple Short Answer) questions. Neither past nor model papers will be available.

Dentists who hold the MFDS (Member of the Faculty of Dental Surgery); or have passed the Primary/Part I Examination of the FDS (Fellowship in Dental Surgery) of one of the Royal Surgical Colleges of the UK; or have passed an examination recognised as equivalent by the Dental Faculties of one of these Colleges; or have Part A of the Intercollegiate LDS (Licence in Dental Surgery) will be exempt from Part A. Part B must be passed before candidates may attempt Part C. Parts B and C must be passed within eighteen months of each other otherwise Part B must be retaken.

Further details of when and where the IQE Part examinations are available, can be found on the GDC website (above).

Anyone from outside the EEA wishing to work in the UK must have a work permit, issued by:

Overseas Labour Service
W5 Moorfoot
Sheffield
England S1 4PQ
Tel: 0044 114 259 4071

Their employer should arrange their work permit for them before they arrive in the UK.

Having registered with the General Dental Council, overseas dentists can then practice in the NHS.

The same rules will apply for hospital posts as for doctors.

In order to work in general dental practice (primary care) undertaking NHS work, dentists need to have their names on an NHS list held by the Primary Care Trust in the area within which they plan to practice. Fully registered non-EU national dentists are also able to work as assistants (i.e. as employees of another dentist) and locums in NHS general practice provided that the practice owner has obtained the necessary work permit.

Dentists from overseas wishing to undertake a placement in order to obtain a postgraduate qualification can contact the National Advice Centre for Postgraduate Dental Education (NACPDE) at:

National Advice Centre for Postgraduate Dental Education
Faculty of Dental Surgery
Royal College of Surgeons of England
35-43 Lincolns Inn Fields
London
WC2A 3PN
Fax: +0044 207 869 6816
Website: http://www.rcseng.ac.uk/dental/fds/nacpde

What types of dentist are there?

Dentists working for the NHS will work in one of the following areas:

General Dental Service (GDS)

Personal Dental Services (PDS)

Community Dental Service (CDS)

Hospital Dental Services (HDS)

Dental Public Health

General Dental Service (GDS)

Most dentists, (after graduating), work as general dental practitioners (GDPs), where they can choose where they work and the hours they keep. They may practise under the National Health Service or privately - most dentists do a mixture of NHS and private work. Treatment for adults under the NHS is paid for under a fee per item basis: the dentist receives a set fee for each procedure carried out. For children, dentists are paid by a mixture of fees for each item of treatment and monthly payments for each child on their list.

Although being a self-employed general dental practitioner is demanding and there are risks involved in running your own business, it can be a most rewarding career.

General dental practitioners can in addition work part-time in hospital, teaching in a dental hospital, as hospital practitioners or clinical assistants.

Personal Dental Service (PDS)

Personal Dental Services were created as part ot the Government''s commitment to modernising the NHS to provide accessible and convenient services to patients. The NHS (Primary Care Act) 1997 allowed dentists and NHS Trusts, working with health commissioners to develop and pilot new ways of delivering NHS dentistry. There are currently 100 PDS pilot schemes.

Early pilots included a number of general dental practitioners moving into PDS arrangements to test variations from the GDS model. Later waves of PDS concentrated on a Trust led salaried approach, in the main the development of Dental Access Centres which are mainly located in areas with poor oral health. Following work carried out by the then Chief Dental Officer for England a report titled "NHS Dentistry Options for Change" was published in the summer of 2002. Further piloting work is being undertaken and it is likely that in due course arrangements will be in place to offer all dentists more flexible ways of working and opportunities to offer an improved quality of service to patients.

Community Dental Service (CDS)

The Community Dental Service currently provides dental care for patients who have difficulty getting treatment in the GDS and who require treatment on referral which is not available in the GDS. For example, CDS dentists look after young children who need special help, as well as elderly and housebound people and people with severe physical disabilities or mental illness. This work can be demanding and rewarding and CDS dentists, who are salaried employees of primary care trusts, can often be provided with opportunities to take on managerial and research duties. CDS dentists can also be involved in school screening work and in epidemiological studies of oral health. In some localities the CDS service has been included in the local PDS pilot scheme.

CDS dentists work in a variety of locations - for example, a patient''s own home, nursing homes, in community clinics and occassionally, in a mobile clinic. They work with a wider clinical team including other professionals complementary to dentistry and other health professionals such as school nurses, health visitors and district nurses.

Hospital Dental Service (HDS)

The hospital dental service has four main functions:

the provision of consultant advice and treatment for cases of special difficulty referred to hospitals by general dental and medical practitioners, or for patients admitted to hospital as a result of trauma or disease.

the dental care, including comprehensive treatment, of long-stay hospital in-patients

the dental care of short-stay patients when this is required for the relief of pain or other emergency, or as part of, or in support of their general treatment.

the treatment of certain out-patients, where there are medical considerations which make it desirable for the treatment to be carried out in a hospital.

Hospitals do not provide a dental service to the general public, except in the special case of dental hospitals where large numbers of patients are required for teaching purposes.

Hospital practice is highly specialised and covers oral surgery, restorative dentistry, paediatric dentistry and orthodontics. Hospital dentists tend to see fewer patients than general dental practitioners, but their treatment is usually more complex as they have generally been referred by a general dental practitioner or doctor. Patients may be referred with complex medical conditions, congenital abnormalities, complex facial injuries or oral facial disease.

They generally work as part of a team and have access to specialised knowledge and facilities.

Within the hospital service there is a defined career structure and training pathway, and advancement requires obtaining recognised postgraduate qualifications. Dentists employed in hospitals have the same terms and conditions of service as hospital doctors.

The four main sub-specialties in the hospital dental service are :

Oral and maxillofacial surgery

Orthodontics

Paediatric dentistry

Restorative dentistry

Dental Public Health

Dental Public Health is a non-clinical specialty involving assessment of dental health needs and ensuring dental services meet those needs. It is concerned with improving the dental health of populations rather than individuals and it involves working in Primary Care Trusts, Strategic Health Authorities and Government Offices. There are a few academic posts in universities and posts in the Department of Health.

Dental Public Health is a relatively new and expanding specialty with many training opportunities available and a current national shortage of consultants. The specialty involves working with people from all branches of dentistry as well as the NHS and other agencies. This is an ever-changing career where there is no time to get bored.

There is no formal on-call, but out of hours working is required (e.g. at evening meetings).

Pay and Benefits (Dentists)
Pay Scales for Dentists as of April 2004

General Dental Service

Vocational Dental Practitioners are paid a salary of £26,520 during their vocational training year.

For a General Dental Practitioner (GDP) typical earnings for a full-time, self-employed GDP are around £77,000 to £83,000 a year.

Personal Dental Service

Dentists working in the PDS are paid on the same scales as those working in the Community Dental Service.

Community Dental Services

Min £

Max £

Community Dental Officer Band 1

30,313

48,016

Senior Dental Officer

43,721

59,422

Assistant Clinical Director

58,410

63,004

Clinical Director

58,410

66,694

Hospital Dental Services

Training grades
Senior House Officer (SHO) working directly with patients as part of a team

Basic Salary Range £24,587 - £34,477

Specialist Registrar (SpR) working in a chosen area of special knowledge and expertise 4 - 6 years or longer* (could include a period of medical research)

Basic Salary Range £27,483 - £41,733

Qualified professional
Consultant, leader of a dental team and responsible for the treatment of patients seen by that team.

Basic Salary Range £67,133 - £90,838