The Small World of Dentistry - Simplified Registration and Pension Concerns
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- Published: Thursday, 15 January 2026 10:07
- Written by Peter Ingle
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Two recent stories are likely to chime with UK dental teams, although they come from outside the UK. One might sound familiar, but the other could have some readers appreciating their NHS contracts.
Australia has access issues, particularly in rural areas. An average of 66 dentists per 100,000 population in state capitals contrasts with just 17 in small towns.
As in the UK the authorities are looking to overseas trained dentists to fill the gaps in provision. And also in line with UK plans there is now a proposal by the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (Ahpra) and National Boards to change registration pathways for overseas graduates, including dentists.
The proposed solution will also look familiar to GDPUK readers. It will provide an alternative ‘fast-track’ for qualified practitioners from a range of countries, instead of the current Australian Dental Council (ADC) exam processes, to allow them to practice in Australia.
The Australian Dental Association (ADA) has voiced serious concerns that patient safety could be at risk under the proposal.
The ADA claims that that not only could there be a lowering of safety standards which could potentially put patients at risk, but that it might well result in greater numbers working in cities rather than the dentally under supplied rural areas.
ADA president Dr Chris Sanzaro said: “The ADA strongly opposes changes which weaken existing assessment frameworks or dilute the robust protections currently in place. We think the proposal risks lowering safeguards and undermines the rigorous standards that protect patient safety and public confidence in the dental profession.”
“However, the real issue here is not one of supply so much as a maldistribution of dentists,” Dr Sanzaro added.
As in the UK, the authorities are avoiding dealing with the underlying cause of the workforce problems, as Dr Sanazro pointed out: “To address the maldistribution, it would be far more effective to have targeted measures such as relocation and retention grants to facilitate dentists working in these poorly served areas.” He also called for improved remuneration for public sector dentists, and for the National Oral Health Plan, which includes expanded rural healthcare funding, to be implemented.
Hopefully a second story, from Germany, will not add to GDPUK reader’s worries, or at least those in the NHS pension scheme.
Members of the pension fund for dentists in Berlin, Bremen and Brandenburg are pressing government officials and supervisory authorities to recover huge asset losses that follow failed investments.
There have now been calls to Germany’s health minister, for political intervention and the creation of a special fund to secure dentists’ pensions.
This follows the dentist’s pension fund, Versorgungswerk der Zahnärztekammer Berlin (VZB) announcement that it expects €1.1bn in losses, which is nearly half the fund’s assets, from investments in companies that went bankrupt.
VZB is a ‘first-pillar’ public pension fund, and dentists in the three federal states are automatically enrolled in it. It now seems likely that it will require government support to continue to meet its commitments. A special fund is being proposed that would provide capital to compensate members for financial losses and ensure the long-term functionality of the institution.
There have also been calls on the health ministry to review and oversee the pension fund’s operations and transfer supervisory responsibility to the departments for health and economic affairs in Berlin.
The episode has revealed structural weaknesses in the pension fund and also the supervisory authorities.
For all the challenges faced by dentists in the UK delivering NHS care, this is one particular worry that they are presently spared.
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