eGDCTotal number of UK registered dental care professionals remains stable following renewal
The number of dental care professionals (DCPs) on the UK Register, following the recent annual renewal period, has remained stable and in line with the trajectory of previous years. On the morning after removals there were 69,782 DCPs on the Register, an increase of 157 on the equivalent figure for 2021.
This year, 4,377 DCPs did not renew their registration, which is 6.3% of those of those who had paid their ARF by 31 July. This compares to an average of 6.5% over the previous four years.
| DCP Annual Renewal Fees | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 |
| ARF payments received (by 31 July) | 67,679 | 68,539 | 68,751 | 69,556 | 69,676 |
Other registrations 1 | 120 | 99 | 120 | 69 | 106 |
| Register count following removals 2 | 67,799 | 68,638 | 68,871 | 69,625 | 69,782 |
| Removals 3 | 4,564 | 4,022 | 4,562 | 4,618 | 4,377 |
| Removals as % of ARF payments received | 6.7% | 5.9% | 6.6% | 6.6% | 6.3% |
1. The register numbers change daily. The register count includes ARF payments, restorations, Fitness to Practise retentions and new additions to the register (between 1 and 2 August for 2022).
2. Register count in week following the renewal period (for 2022 this was 3 August).
3. Reasons for removal include voluntary removal, non-payment, retirement, and notifications of death.
These figures provide a useful benchmark for the total number of DCPs registered in the UK. However, it is important to note that they do not provide insight into the number of professionals working in different patterns (e.g. full time vs part time), how many DCPs are working in NHS services compared to private practice or local workforce condition.
While the register is constantly changing, what we invariably see (for both the dentist and DCP registers) is that over the course of the year, the number of registered professionals increases due to new registrations, and then that number drops at the point of renewal as professionals leave the Register for a range of reasons.
We publish monthly and annual registration reports, which provide further information, with the annual data for 2021 published just last week.