Dentist amongst the Best Paid in Britain
Figures revealed this week show that dentist are earning up to £300,000 a year in England and Wales.
The NHS information centre showed that out of 19,000 practicing dentists in the country 382 earned over £300,000 including expenses, 113 dentists earned £275,000 to £300,000, while 159 earned £250,000 to £275,000.
The average annual income of a dentist is over £89,000 with one top dentist reported to be earning over £380,000.
Of the 19,000 dentist working in England and Wales around 7,500 have contract with the Local Primary Care Trust, or the Local Health Board.
The figures released could not be compared to any previous year’s earnings as the due to the calculation process being done differently.
Chief Executive of the NHS Information Centre, Tim Straughton, said: “The England and Wales report looks at earnings of in the second year of the new contractual system and reveals the average earnings of NHS dentists varies greatly depending on whether they personally held a contract with their primary care organisation.”
The contract was introduced by the government in the hope that it would put an end to the critics of the ‘drill and fill’ culture that surfaces as a result of dentists being paid per filling. The contract was introduced in April 2006 and means that dentist are now paid for every piece of dental activity and the type of treatment taken.
Health minister Ann Keen said: “NHS dentistry is improving and many dentists are now keen to expand their NHS work. Today’s report confirms that NHS dentists have good levels of earnings.”
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