International dentists outnumber UK dentists joining GDC register
Supporting a diverse and growing dental workforce is one of the regulator's core commitments
There has been a 4.7% increase in the number of registered dental professionals in the UK over the past year, reports the General Dental Council (GDC).
As of December 2025, 131,680 dental professionals were registered with the GDC. The number of dentists increased by 3.4% to 47,916, and dental care professionals (DCP) by 5.5% to 83,764.
The report includes comparison data from previous years to show trends and changes. For the first time, internationally qualified dentists now outnumber UK-qualified dentists joining the register, 53% compared with 47%.
The number of dental nurses increased by 6,473 (5.4%) to 68,472. Dental nurses now make up more than 50% of all those registered with the GDC, with 96% of those who joined the register in 2025 being female.
The number of registered dental therapists grew by 21% to 8,661, while the number of dental hygienists increased by 11% to 11,292. Meanwhile, 71% (1,044) of new dental therapist registrations and 55% (591) of dental hygienist registrations were from internationally qualified dentists who joined the register with DCP titles, a route that has now closed.
Despite overall growth, the number of dental technicians dropped for the sixth consecutive year, falling below 5,000 for the first time. Only 143 dental technicians joined the register in 2025. In total, there were 9,332 additions to the register in 2025, down from 9,888 in 2024.
Theresa Thorp, Executive Director of Regulation at the GDC, said: “This report provides important insights into the dental workforce, the people who make up our register, and dental professions that are growing and changing.
“Supporting a diverse and growing dental workforce is one of the core commitments in our strategy, Trusted and Effective, for 2026 to 2028, and we’re committed to ensuring our registration processes are as straightforward as possible for those joining our register.”
Registration timeliness and performance
- For the first time, the report includes a dedicated section on registration timeliness.
- The Registration team assessed 12,654 applications across all routes in 2025, compared to 12,978 in 2024.
- The GDC met, and in several areas exceeded, its timeliness targets across all UK and specialist registration routes in 2025.
Diversity and demographics
- The dental register is predominantly female, with 78% of all dental professionals identifying as female, including 54% of dentists and 92% of DCPs.
- 31% of dentists are of Asian or Asian British ethnic origin (2024: 30%), which is three times higher than the proportion in the total UK population.
- 46% of dentists identified as being of white ethnic grouping (2024: 47%), compared to 74% of DCPs (2024: 75%).
The Association of Dental Groups (ADG), the UK’s leading representative body for dental groups across NHS, Private and Community-Based Services, welcomed the announcement.
The ADG has long called for a more predictable, better‑resourced ORE system to help address the UK’s chronic dental workforce shortages. It said the update marks meaningful progress towards enabling more internationally qualified dentists to join the UK register and support patient access.
Neil Carmichael, Executive Chair, Association of Dental Groups, said: “This announcement is a significant and positive step forward. For too long, the ORE bottleneck has prevented highly trained international dentists already living in the UK from contributing to patient care. The GDC’s commitment to a more stable, better planned examination schedule and registration process is exactly the kind of practical reform the sector has been urging.
“The expanded capacity, particularly the planned growth in Part 2 places, will help unlock a vital source of workforce supply at a time when dental deserts and unmet need continue to grow. These internationally trained clinicians are ready to take on the robust Overseas Registration Examinations and become valuable members of UK dentistry’s workforce. This update gives them a clearer and more reliable pathway to registration.
“We look forward to working with the GDC, DHSC and wider partners to ensure this momentum continues. The GDC’s ambition to increase capacity further for ORE Part 2 sittings by year three of the contract is also noted and commitment to this is important. A sustainable workforce model for dentistry must include a functioning, efficient ORE system that enables internationally qualified dentists to join the register safely, swiftly and at scale.”
The full report is available at Registration Statistical Report 2025.