Dentists - license to print money?

Dentists in the U.K. are the most highly regulated in the world. Over 50 different bodies can inspect dental surgeries and the GDC (general dental council) is chaired by a previous consumers association chair. Every aspect of dentistry is open to scrutiny and regular inspections , checks and regulations make dentistry far more scrutinised than almost any other profession.

If the dentist is NHS every item of treatment they do is statistically analysed and compared against every other dentist in the area and in the country. If they do too much or too little treatment this is analysed quarterly and their patient records examined . If there is a concern patients may be recalled and further investigations made.

In any case there is no incentive to make up work on the nhs, in fact just the opposite as the payment structure penalises dentists who do involved treatment plans.


If a dentist is private then they rely on word of mouth and patient recommendation . If they appear to do "too much work" patients will soon leave and initiate complaints and/or litigation.

Dentists in the U.K. are more likely to be sued than anywhere else in the world including the US.

I presume your relative needed the tooth extracted either because it was badly decayed or had gum disease? In which case infection is already there, and removing a tooth leaves a large open wound to heal up. Added to that if the tooth was difficult to remove it makes it more likely to become infected particularly if the patient smokes or is eg diabetic.

The vast majority of dentists are ethical , hard working professionals , subject to increasing regulation and litigation . Reading the titles of the most recent threads is a somewhat depressing experience for any dentist in one of the most stressful jobs (after air traffic controller) there is,

It's just brilliant.

I'm on a gravy train with biscuit wheels. I go onto my balcony every day and throw bundles of notes at all the poor people waiting down below.

It always surprises me the whole world doesn't just do a few 'A' levels, spend a few years at Uni, and become qualified. It's just one long joyride after that!