The UK government announced on Tuesday a major expansion of licensing exams for overseas-trained dentists, increasing capacity from 180 to 1,800 places in an effort to address widespread shortages in the National Health Service (NHS) dental care.
The move, announced by the Department of Health and Social Care, aims to help clear a backlog of foreign-trained dentists waiting to practise in the UK and could allow up to 2,400 additional overseas dentists to register each year by 2028–29.
Under the plan, the Licence in Dental Surgery (LDS) exam, administered by the Royal College of Surgeons of England, will expand nearly tenfold with the help of a £420,000 or $765,600 government investment. Successful candidates will be eligible to join the register of the General Dental Council (GDC) and provide dental care, including NHS treatments.
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At the same time, the GDC will increase capacity for its Overseas Registration Exam (ORE) to about 1,500 clinical exam places, which is expected to bring more than 1,000 additional dentists onto the register annually by 2028–29.
Health minister Stephen Kinnock said the measures aim to improve access to care across the country.
“No one in the 21st century should be left in a situation where they cannot access a dentist,” Kinnock said. “Training more dentists and allowing greater numbers of those qualified overseas to practise will put more patients in dental chairs.”
50 additional dental training places
The announcement also includes the first sustained expansion of dental school places in nearly two decades, with 50 additional training places per year beginning in 2027. The government said these spots will be targeted toward regions known as “dental deserts,” including rural and coastal areas where access to NHS dental appointments remains limited.
Officials say the measures form part of a broader effort to rebuild NHS dentistry and shift the health system toward prevention as part of the UK’s upcoming 10-Year Health Plan.
The expansion follows longstanding concerns that thousands of overseas dentists already living in the UK remain unable to practise because of limited exam capacity.
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