While people in the UK struggle to access dental care, many overseas-trained dentists spend months and years doing odd jobs like working in McDonald’s.
To work as dentists in the UK, they need to clear the Overseas Registration Examination, where the seats are so limited that even appearing for the exam is a huge challenge.
Overseas dentists claim it is a ‘frantic scramble’ as places are snapped up within seconds after the bookings open.
According to the Association of Dental Groups (ADG), fully qualified dentists from countries such as India, Egypt and Albania are spending months or even years to appear for the exams.
During the interim period, they are forced to take up unskilled jobs to pay for their bills.
The overseas dentists need to pass both parts of the exam to gain entry to the General Dental Council’s (GDC) register, which allows them to work in the UK.
As per the GDC data, 6,000 overseas-qualified dentists are waiting to take the exams, but only 600 candidates can appear at a time, which is organised twice a year.
Meanwhile, the NHS in England had 2,749 vacancies for dentists in 2023-24, and 4.5 million people in England alone currently cannot access NHS dental care.
There have been reports of people resorting to DIY dentistry, pulling out their teeth with pliers, as they are unable to secure an appointment.
The ADG has called for reforming the Overseas Registration Examination system and allowing more candidates to appear per exam.
ADG executive chair Neil Carmichael has called for an urgent removal of barriers that prevent overseas dentists from working in the UK's healthcare sector.
Meanwhile, the Department of Health and Social Care said they had inherited a broken NHS dental system and are trying to fix it through the upcoming 10-year health plan.
The department also claimed it is reforming the NHS dental contract to reduce attrition.
