Trained dentists flipping burgers

With trained dentists working in fast food outlets and a breaking NHS dentistry due to a shortage of staff, the solution seems simple, Polly Bhambra explains.

It seems almost unbelievable: fully qualified dentists working in McDonald’s, Subway and other retail roles just to make ends meet.

Yet this is the reality for many overseas-trained professionals.

Many are currently stuck in limbo due to the severe backlog of the Overseas Registration Exam (ORE).

A new report from the Association of Dental Groups (ADG), Creating Dental Oases, presented to MPs at the House of Commons on 18 June, has brought this crisis into sharper focus.

The report outlines how the current bottleneck in the ORE system is not only impacting individual lives and careers but also contributing to the growing crisis in NHS dentistry.

Urgent reform

At a time when practices up and down the country are struggling to recruit, with patients facing months-long waits for NHS appointments, it is both tragic and frustrating that highly qualified professionals are being forced into unrelated jobs while eager to contribute to the UK dental workforce.

This isn’t just about dentists unable to practise.

It’s about a broken system that urgently needs reform.

The General Dental Council (GDC) oversees the ORE, which enables overseas-trained dentists to register and work in the UK.

However, due to capacity issues, the number of exams held each year is limited.

This leaves thousands of dentists stuck in a queue with no clear timeline for entry into the profession.

And while they wait? Many are taking up work in fast food outlets or supermarkets to survive.

This is despite holding years of clinical experience, often from reputable institutions abroad.

The solution isn’t complicated

The GDC combined with the government must increase the number of ORE sittings.

Expand capacity to process applications more efficiently.

If bureaucracy is holding back progress, then it’s time for policy makers and regulatory bodies to step up and rethink the framework.

We can’t afford to waste skilled talent while our dental system faces unprecedented demand.

A dental crisis

The ADG’s report outlines several practical recommendations, including:

• Increasing funding and resource allocation to ORE providers

• Exploring alternative, quality-assured routes to registration

• Offering greater transparency and support for overseas applicants

This is not only a moral imperative – to allow qualified individuals to do the jobs they trained for – but a practical solution to a workforce shortage that is pushing NHS dentistry to the brink.

We have willing, qualified dentists ready to work. Patients desperate to be seen. And practices under immense pressure to fill appointments.

The fix is right in front of us.

We cannot continue to allow red tape to hold back progress.

The ORE bottleneck isn’t just a problem for overseas dentists. It’s a crisis for the profession as a whole.

Let’s act now to create real change.