ADG meets High Commissioner for India to discuss dental workforce

Finding solutions to the depleted dental workforce in the UK was front of mind when the Association of Dental Groups' (ADG) executive chair, Neil Carmichael, recently met with the High Commissioner for India, H.E. Vikram Doraiswami.

With vacancies for dentists in the UK totalling over 2,700, patient access is being significantly impacted.

So, the ADG, the trade body representing NHS, private, and community-based sectors is working hard to find solutions to put the talent of highly-trained international dentists to work, to help alleviate the UK’s ‘dental deserts’ crisis.

Carmichael said: “The bottom line is we urgently need more dentists, and India has a wealth of dentist talent.

We have an immediate solution available to us that is to look to India, which is a perfect source of first-class-trained dentists

“These are trained dentists who are ready to support our profession in the UK.

“Across the four nations, we currently have a significant gap in our dental workforce that is badly affecting patient access. 

“We have an immediate solution available to us that is to look to India, which is a perfect source of first-class-trained dentists. 

“The ADG is confident that through enabling more dentists from India to take the General Dental Council’s rigorous Overseas Registration Examination, which ensures ongoing quality, we will help ease the strain on our workforce in the immediate term. 

“This is why the International Dental Organisation is keen to develop the ‘Chennai Scheme’, which amounts to providing a MSc-taught course covering NHS dentistry facets, additional training, and ongoing support for students in India wishing to practise in the UK.”

The ADG is confident that through enabling more dentists from India to take the General Dental Council’s rigorous Overseas Registration Examination we will help ease the strain on our workforce in the immediate term

He added: “I was delighted to receive strong encouragement from the High Commissioner for India in our recent meeting.

“Offering good training and ongoing support for international students are both essential requirements and we should look at ways to link our UK dental schools with the schools in India to enable efficiencies.”