Leaders of dentists working in salaried primary care, hospitals and academia have echoed the disappointment already expressed by colleagues in general practice at the pay award announced for 2010/11.

Salaried primary care dentists in England will be given just a one per cent pay increase for next year. Peter Bateman, Chair of the British Dental Association's Salaried Dentists Committee, said:

"Salaried primary care dental services treat some of the most vulnerable patients in the community. Two thirds of services already face significant difficulties filling vacancies. Where these difficulties exist, they threaten the ability of the dental professionals working in them to provide the care for patients such as those with severe learning difficulties, mental health problems and vulnerable children. Salaried dentists appreciate the necessary constraints on the public purse, but they are also aware of the challenges facing salaried dental services and the urgent need to address the problems of recruiting to the service."

Hospital dentists, except Consultants, have been awarded a salary increase of one per cent. In line with the recommendation of the Doctors' and Dentists' Review Body (DDRB), consultants have been awarded zero per cent. Keith Altman, Chair of the BDA's Central Committee for Hospital Dental Staff, said:

"Dental staff working in hospitals will be disappointed by this award, which will do little for the morale of dedicated professionals working with very limited resources. We need to do more to encourage entry to careers in hospital dentistry. This award will not do that. It is lamentable that consultants, who are working harder than ever before as a group, have specifically been excluded from the pay uplift."

Clinical dental academic staff are outside the remit of the DDRB. The DDRB's report did, however, acknowledge the issues facing dental academia, something welcomed by Professor Paul Wright, Chair of the BDA's Central Committee for Dental Academic Staff (CCDAS):

"The DDRB has correctly recognised that any shortfall in the number of clinical academic staff could affect the ability to train sufficient numbers of dentists, and reiterated the importance it places on there being sufficient incentives for dentists to choose academic careers. We already face a shortfall in the number of dental academics which has been exacerbated in recent years by a growth in student numbers. The DDRB supports the principle of pay parity between clinical academic staff and NHS clinicians but this may not be enough of an incentive to address the issues of recruitment and retention."

Source
British Dental Association