Red tape blocking thousands of foreign dentists working in the UK despite huge NHS demand

30 August 2024, 07:41 | Updated: 30 August 2024, 07:43

Red tape is stopping thousands of experienced overseas dentists from treating patients in the UK, LBC can reveal.

Over 3,000 people are trying to sit an exam needed to prove they're fit to practice dentistry in the UK.

But in 2024, there are only 1,200 places available on the first part of the Overseas Registration Examination.

That's despite warnings the unmet need for NHS dentistry is at "an all-time high".

The British Dental Association say 5.6 million adults have tried and failed to book a dentist appointment in the last 2 years in England.

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The situation is so bad, 7% of adults have resorted to DIY dentistry since March 2020 according to YouGov data.

One dentist said she moved to the UK two years ago, with dreams of using her skills in the NHS.

She was a dentist in India for half a decade and spent three years as specialist in prosthodontics.

But despite her experience, she can currently only work as a dental nurse - as she struggles repeatedly to book a place on the ORE exam.

"People come [to the clinic] every day saying 'I'm in desperate pain', people pulling out their own teeth. I know what to do... but I have to say sorry, I can't help you."

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She says it is "practically impossible" to secure a spot on the ORE, with places on the online system becoming fully booked within seconds.

Shivani Bhandari of the International Dental Organisation UK, said that a "ticket would be easier to get for a Lady Gaga show than booking the ORE!

"ORE places should be increased... why is this happening when people are pulling out their own teeth and children are suffering?"

The charity have contacted the Health Secretary and are calling on him to help tackle the problem.

Meanwhile, the General Dental Council, who run the ORE, said they were working to increase capacity.

But they say the practical nature of parts of the exam makes that difficult.

"It needs equipment, supervisors and places where that can happen, that's quite hard to set up in a hurry", the organisation's executive director Stefan Czerniawski told LBC.

"The difficulty isn't just can we create more places. It's can we do that at a cost that's affordable for the candidates, which we can scale up or down according to demand."

The GDC wants the new Health Secretary to confirm if the government will push on with plans to introduce another alternative route into practice for overseas dentists.

As patients struggle to book NHS appointments, travelling abroad for treatments is on the rise, according to the British Dental Association.

They're warning that poses "considerable risks".

86% of dentists they surveyed had seen patients who'd developed problems following treatment abroad.

But for many people who've waited for months to see an NHS dentist, going to another country for dental work is a last resort.

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"My tooth was visibly loose, I couldn't eat, I was just desperate", said teacher and mum Melanie.

She said she went to Turkey after trying to get the problems with her teeth fixed through the NHS for over a year.

"I don't blame dentists here, I'm sure they want to do a good job. I just think the system is broken."

A Department of Health spokesperson told LBC: “We are determined to rebuild NHS dentistry, but it will take time and there are no quick fixes. Strengthening the workforce is key to our ambitions.

"Dentists that meet our high standards should be able to enter the workforce efficiently and we are exploring the best ways to achieve this."

Meanwhile, the Liberal Democrat health spokesperson and Deputy Leader Daisy Cooper told LBC that the Conservative government “left dentistry in a terrible state” and that “speeding up the approval” of overseas dentists needs to part of the solution.