Latest updates from the GDC
A view from the Chair: feedback on the Standards for Education, Council’s considerations around our next corporate strategy, and information about how we deliver our statutory functions
Our Chair, Lord Toby Harris, welcomes the broad agreement expressed during the recent public consultation on the proposed Standards for Education, highlights some of the key data from our Registration and Fitness to Practise reports for 2024, and sets out the key issues being considered by Council, as it discusses developing proposals for our next corporate strategy.
New set of dentists’ working patterns data
The second set of annual dentists' working patterns data is now available, providing insights into how dentists were working across the UK up to 31 January 2025. The data indicates that four out of five dentists were working in England, 11% in Scotland, 5% in Wales, and 4% in Northern Ireland. More than half (59%) were self-employed, agency workers or locums, while 20% were employees and 16% were business owners or part-owners.
We have now collected working patterns data from 30,066 dentists since November 2023, representing two-thirds of registered dentists, making it the single largest source of information on working patterns across the four nations.
Dentists were encouraged to take part in the working patterns survey when completing their annual renewal in 2024, and dental care professionals will be asked to respond to the survey when annual renewal opens in June.
Additional insights from the survey are available online.
New report on sexual misconduct in dentistry
Our rapid evidence review, undertaken to help us to understand more about how sexual misconduct is experienced in dentistry, has found that these unacceptable behaviours are both widespread and under-reported.
On the findings, Stefan Czerniawski, Executive Director, Strategy said:
"Everyone should feel safe and respected in dentistry, but reports of sexual misconduct tell us that this is not always the case.
“That should be a concern for everybody who works in dentistry. People with responsibility for dental workplaces should ensure that patients and staff feel themselves to be in a safe and supportive environment and that they have policies and procedures to support that. It is critical that those who come forward feel supported and protected.
“For our part, we will use the findings to underpin further work to address sexual misconduct in the context of professionalism in dentistry.”
Find out more about the review findings.
The number of dental therapists increases by almost a quarter in 2024
Our latest Registration Statistical Report shows that the number of registered dental professionals in the UK increased to 125,736 last year. The most significant changes were a 23.5% increase in the number dental therapists, with 1,402 new registrations, and a 9.6% increase in dental hygienists, with 921 new registrations.
At the end of 2024, there were 46,362 dentists and 79,374 dental care professionals on the registers. Of the dentists who joined the register, 53% were UK-qualified, 30% were EEA or rest of the world-qualified and 16% qualified by passing the Overseas Registration Examination (ORE).
Find out more about Registration in 2024.
ORE sittings confirmed for 2025 and early 2026
We’re pleased to confirm that additional sittings of the ORE will take place in late 2025 and early 2026. These sittings offer 1,800 ORE Part 1 places (600 per sitting) and 576 ORE Part 2 places (144 per sitting), to be held:
- ORE Part 1: August 2025, December 2025, and April 2026.
- ORE Part 2: September 2025, November 2025, January 2026, and April 2026.
The additional sittings ensure continued access to the ORE. We expect new contracts to be awarded in the Autumn, with further updates to follow.
Efficiency improvements in Fitness to Practise
Our annual Fitness to Practise Statistical Report, shows meaningful improvements in case handling efficiency, with 76% of cases meeting assessment timeframe targets by the last quarter of 2024. We also added resources at the case examiners stage last year, and expect the backlog of older cases to clear by July 2025.
The number of new issues reported increased by 8% in 2024 to just over 1,400. And on average, 88% of cases were resolved before the case examiner stage, with only 12% progressing to a hearing before an independent practice committee.
Regional analysis showed that those practising in London and the South East were more likely to have an issue reported, accounting for 22% of all concerns received, despite representing just 14% of all registered dental professionals.
More about Fitness to Practise in 2024.
Find us at the Dentistry Show 2025
You will find us at Stand N10 at this year’s British Dental Conference and Dentistry Show. The event takes place on 16 and 17 May 2025 at the NEC Birmingham. If you’re planning to attend, please drop by for a chat.
Our Executive Director, Regulation, Theresa Thorp, will be taking part in a panel discussion on Saturday 17 May at 9.30am. Check your programme for the session called, Fitness to Practise: A case for change.
We look forward to seeing you there.
GDC Costed Corporate Plan 2025 to 2027
Our Costed Corporate Plan is now available, providing details about our work programme over the next three years. The plan reports on the progress made in 2024 and sets out some of our key achievements over the past year.
You will find the Costed Corporate Plan on our website.