Publication, Part of Dental Workforce Management Information
Dental Workforce Management Information, December 2025
Other reports and statistics
Summary
This publication is to report the findings of a survey of the dental workforce in England.
All dental providers in England who, at the end of December 2025, held either a General Dental Services (GDS) contract or Personal Dental Services (PDS) agreement were asked to provide data and 84% of them submitted a response.
The collection was carried out between January and April 2026, and reports the position as at the end of December 2025.
This publication aims to help understand the facilities available for the provision of NHS dental care in England and numbers of staff across a range of professions. It also aims to illustrate providers’ experience in staff recruitment and retention, as well as instances of long-term absences.
This publication is classed as ‘Management Information’.
A supplementary set of information focusing on the providers of Community Dental Services (CDS), which is a subset of the main data set, is also provided. However not all CDS provision is covered by the two contracts in scope for this data collection (General Dental Services (GDS) contracts or Personal Dental Services (PDS) agreements), so the data are incomplete, and it is important to note that this supplementary analysis does not constitute a full picture of staff providing Community Dental Services in the NHS in England.
Key Facts
Dentists Providing NHS Care
General Dentists spent 70% of their full-time equivalent working time on NHS care. This was unchanged from last year.
Long-Term Absence
3,127 dental staff were absent for more than one month in the 12 months to December 2025. This was 3% of all staff, up from 2% last year.
NHS Vacancies
The NHS vacancy rate for general dentists was 10%, down significantly from 19% last year.
Resources
Last edited: 27 August 2026 9:31 am