Pay has actually decreased by about 3 per cent as dentists have moved to new contracts.
Dentists working under the GMS-equivalent General Dental Services (GDS) contract have the option to carry out a mix of NHS and private work.
A study of earnings and expen-ses in 2004/05 by the DoH’s Information Centre for health and social care revealed that, overall, GDS dentists in Great Britain earned 48 per cent of their gross income from NHS work compared with 54 per cent the previous year.
Pay figures for dentists working from another dentist’s premises were significantly lower — on average just £57,000.
Dentists who practise alone earned an average of £86,000, with those that were ‘most committed’ to the NHS earning £84,000 and those that were less committed averaging £89,000.
A smaller additional study, for the year 2005/06, covers NHS income only. This shows the wide range of income levels, with some dentists earning less than £5,000 from the NHS and others earning over £300,000, before expenses are deducted.
Data from specialist medical accountants Ramsay, Brown and Partners show average GMS profit per partner in 2004/5 was £96,772, excluding non-NHS earnings (GP, 9 August 2005).
The figure when private work is added to this is just over £100,000 on average, representing around 5 per cent of GP work.
2004/5 incomes
Average dental (GDS) partner. NHS: £50,400
Including private: £105,000
Average GMS partner. NHS:96,772
Including private £100,000
