Simon Palmer, May 2006 - While all of us in Australia and New Zealand are looking to the local regulatory bodies for some solution to the dentist shortage that awaits and escalates on the horizon, it seems some potential relief has come from an unlikely source the U.K.

In early February, Dentist Job Search participated in the UK Dental Careers Day in London and while we were there it was brought to our attention that two recent U.K dental regulation changes could have a large impact in reducing this shortage of dentists down under.

The two changes are;

1. Australian and New Zealand dental qualifications received since the year 2000 are no longer recognised for immediate practice in the U.K. Dentists who received their degree since then now have to study and sit for exams in order to practice in the UK.
2. The U.K government is bringing in large scale changes to the NHS delivery of dental services on April 1st.

The change in regulation for UK recognition of Australian and New Zealand dental degrees isn’t recent news. The change started in the year 2000 and was announced prior to this. So why is this making an impact here now? The truth of the matter is this change is making larger impacts as time goes by.

Firstly the numbers of Australian and New Zealand dentists with qualifications that predate the year 2000 get smaller every year (as some of these dentists will retire or otherwise cease to practice every year).

Secondly, the predominant work visa that Australian and New Zealand qualified dentists used to practice in the UK was the Working Holiday Visa. A visa that can only be obtained between the ages of 18 and 30. Since the average age of a dental graduate in Australia or New Zealand is 24 or 25 years old, the graduating class of the year 2000 would now be around 31 years old and not able to use this visa.

The Working Holiday Visa avenue for Australian and New Zealand dentists wanting to work in the UK (as a dentist) has been shutting slowly over the past six years and has now shut completely. This isn’t to say that Australian and New Zealand dentists cannot work as a dentist in the UK anymore. All it means that one of the traditionally easy and popular options for getting there have now closed.

This is bad news for Australian and New Zealand dental graduates looking at their career options for the first few years out of university. However it is good news for patients and dental practices in areas hit by the dentist shortage in Australia and New Zealand as the regulatory bodies in the UK have plugged one of the sources of Australia and New Zealand’s loss of dentists.

The recently announced changes to the U.K NHS delivery of dental services have had a more indirect impact on us here as many of the U.K dentists who would once have moved directly into the NHS system are now rethinking their options. Many are seeing two new compelling reasons for them to consider working in Australia or New Zealand:

1. The NHS has created a real feeling of uncertainty among the U.K dentists as to where the dust will settle and are deciding to go abroad to wait the changes out. Many hope that when they decide to return the systems in the U.K will be a lot more tried, tested and certain
2. To receive experience in private practice and practice management not readily available yet in the UK. As the NHS system continues to unravel, there is a slow and increasing awareness amongst dentists of the new challenges in dental practice management. The similarities between the Australian/Kiwi and UK cultures mean that many UK dentists are able to work in fairly evolved practices here and take back a wealth of culturally appropriate practice management experience to the UK.

In our experience with sponsoring and placing UK dentists in Australia we find that they are usually a very welcome solution to a rural or public practice facing a dentist shortage. U.K dentists are often more than happy to go to (and stay at - if their visa and their employers allow) the very rural practices that are experiencing problems in finding an Australian or New Zealand dentist. We find that U.K dentists are often attracted to the slower pace, beaches, nature and cultural experiences that rural practices in Australia and New Zealand offer that aren’t readily available in the U.K.

While the Australian and New Zealand regulatory bodies investigate and try to find some way of alleviating or averting the Dentist shortage crisis that awaits and escalates it is good to see that some help is on the way …even if it has to be from overseas.

[Published in Australasian Dentist, May/June 2006]