DENTISTS in Ealing are set to rebel against their own regulator, the General Dental Council, to preserve access to NHS dental services for all patients and protect against punitive fee increases.

The General Dental Council has plans to increase its compulsory fees for all dentists by 64%.

The move is opposed by 98% of dentists in England and Wales, who fear the increase will lead to fewer patients using NHS dental services, as well as driving up the cost of private treatment.

They believe NHS dental clinics could be faced with longer queues and longer waiting times for appointments, while patients might find it more difficult to register as an NHS patient when dentists are forced to focus on private practice to make up the shortfall.

The General Dental Council is equivalent to the General Medical Council, and has been regulating the dental profession since 1956.

For the first time in its history, a special national conference will be convened to bring together the wider dental community in England and Wales on December 5.

The following motion will be debated: “This conference believes the GDC has failed in its role as the regulator for dentistry and therefore moves that a new model of regulation is sought that will both protect patients and have the support of the dental profession.”

A spokesman for the GDC told us: “We are required to charge registrants an annual retention fee, enabling dental professionals to retain their place on the register, which then provides them with the right to practise.

“The current fee level for dentists is £576 and for dental care professionals (DCPs) is £120. The ARF has not been increased for four years. This fee is deductible for the purposes of income tax.

“Our primary source of income is fees from registrants. The GDC does not receive funding from the taxpayer and must use the fee income it receives to fund all of the activities which Parliament has stated it must deliver.

"These include:

• Administering and maintaining a register of those dental professionals

• Investigating complaints and taking action against those dental professionals who are not considered fit to practise

• Investigating complaints and taking action against those who may be practising illegally

• Assuring the quality of providers of dental education and training and

• Collection of ARF fees.

“Since 2010, when the GDC last increased the ARF, there has been a 110% increase in the number of complaints from patients and members of the public, employers, other registrants and the police about dental professionals.

“As a result, the GDC needs additional funds to investigate these complaints and, where necessary, to bring Fitness to Practise cases involving dentists and DCPs.

“If the GDC does not have sufficient funds to bring these cases, it would fail in its duty to protect patients and the public.”