The league table of earnings of 2,371 non-salaried dentists showed the number making it into the highest NHS pay brackets has continued to grow, with average earnings for the latest financial year of £89,009. In 2004-5 only eight dentists in Scotland earned £300,000 or more before tax for NHS work – rising to 24 last year. A further 23 earned £250,000 to £299,999, while 91 earn between £200,000 and £249,999.
But Andrew Lamb said: “Dentists are not coining large amounts of money. The average dentist in Scotland earns, pre-tax, approximately £40,000 from the NHS. In Scotland dentists are paid by the NHS on a fee per item basis. This is made up of two elements: the payment to the dentist and the payment to cover practice costs.
“The second element, made up of practice expenses, is an agreed figure between the health departments and the BDA and is deemed to be 56 per cent of the total payment. So, the figure of 24 dentists earning more than £300,000 from the NHS includes the 56 per cent which the dentist will pay towards the running costs of their practices and should not be viewed as personal income.”
Scottish Dental Practice Board chairman Donald McNicol said: “The difficulty with these figures is that some dentists listed as earning large salaries have dentists working under them.”