Most dentists work as General Dental Practitioners also termed GDPs.

GDPs have a broad range of skills and work usually in ‘high street’ practices providing a variety of routine and complex  treatments. GDPs are usually self-employed and work under an associateship agreement with the practice owner. A GDP may work solely under the NHS, be a mixed NHS and private practitioner or sole provide private treatments. This would often be based upon the practice they work within. Most practices in UK are mixed practices providing contractural NHS services and private dental treatments. 

A GDP can enhance their scope of practice  by undertaking structured learning and additional postgraduate training to develop skills. Examples of these include, but are not limited to, dental implant placement and restoration, non surgical facial aesthetic treatments and intravenous conscious sedation. Therefore a ‘general’ dentist may undertake formal postgraduate training e.g. MSc in Implant Dentistry to enhance their skill set. 

Further more, GDPs have the flexibility in their career to work full time or part time (depending on their contractual agreement). This offers great possibility to have work-life harmony. Some choose to work part time in hospital or another practice, undertake lectureship or teaching positions or spend the time conducting personal non dental activities. 

Read Tif’s story here as he describes his life as a GDP

Hospital dentistry comprises of four service deliveries:

1. Dental consultant led treatment planning and management- often patients referred from primary care practice. These may include, but not limited to, oncology, hypodontia, cleft-lip and palate patients.

2. Complex dental care for in-patients such as head and neck cancer patients in oral and maxillofacial departments or orthognathic (jaw) surgery patients. 

3. Emergency dental care for out-patients such as acute dental pain or dental trauma 

4. Medically compromised out-patients requiring treatment in hospital setting as treatment is too complex for primary dental care. For example patients taking intravenous bisphoshonates for cancer who are at risk of Medication Related Osteonecrosis of the Jaw following dental extraction (tooth removal).

Hospital dentists are salaried employee’s. The Hospital also facilitates a pathway for NHS postgraduate training. Here, dentists undertake structured training to gain specialist status and, where applicable, attain consultant position. Dental hospitals also facilitate university training for dentistry students on patients.

Dentists working in a hospital may generally fall under these job categories:

1. Dental Consultant 

2. Specialty Registrar (StR)

3. Specialty Dentist  / Staff Grade (SpD)

4. Dental Core Trainee/ Senior House Officer  (DCT/SHO)

5. Academic Clinical Fellow/ Lecturer (ACF/ACL)

6. Clinical Tutor/ Assistant

Community Dental Services are provided to ensure that everyone can have access to dental health care. Some patients due to physical disability or medical condition are unable to be treated in general dental practice. 

A community dentist is salaried and may work in a variety of locations including an outreach centre, patient’s own home, nursing homes, community clinics and mobile clinics.

Patients who may need community dental services include

1. High decay risk children requiring anxiety management control with inhalation sedation

2. Children with learning difficulties such as autism sector disorder 

3. Adults who have difficulty accessing general dental services such as those with learning difficulty, mental health problems or bariatric patients

4. Adults requiring home visits (domiciliary care)