Registration and retention of dentists on the General Dental Council register between 2006 and 2016

Background There is considerable uncertainty over the dental future workforce requirements in the United Kingdom. This uncertainty has not been helped by the lack of clarity on the possible impacts on workforce following the results of the referendum to leave the European Union and enactment of Article 50.Aim This paper sets out to describe the contribution to the dental workforce over the reported period of non-UK qualified dental graduates.Results For the last three years over a third of new registrants have qualified from outside of the UK with over a quarter of registrants entering through mutual recognition of their qualification. Furthermore, the findings highlight the relatively short period for which those entering the register from the European Economic Area remain on the register when compared to other entrants.Discussion Those responsible for workforce policy will need to react rapidly to these findings given the short time period remaining to negotiate the terms and conditions of Britain's exit and this must include clarification of the entitlements of the current and future dental EEA qualified graduates.