04/08/2009

NI Dentist Pay Revealed

Details of the earnings and expenses of General Dental Services (GDS) dentists in Northern Ireland have been published.

The payments during 2007/08 were released by the NHS Information Centre today - the first time that an overview of self-employed GDS dentists' earnings and expenses has been produced for Northern Ireland.

Dentists' pay varies widely depending on the type of dentist; Principals, the higher paid category of self-employed GDS dentists have an average taxable income of £121,174, with Associate dentists, the lower paid category having an average taxable income of £66,134.

Averages in the report relate to both full and part-time dentists with varying levels of earnings from the Health Services and private work.

The report presents key findings in terms of average taxable income, average expenses and average gross earnings for Principal and Associate dentists.

This report has been produced by the NHS Information Centre for Health and Social Care, in consultation with a working group comprised of representatives from across the UK and involving dentists' associations and health authorities.

Average taxable income (gross earnings minus expenses, before income tax) for Principal dentists was £121,174, compared to £66,134 for Associate dentists.

For all dentists (that is, Principal and Associate) this figure was £89,756.

Average expenses for Principal dentists were £190,053, compared to £37,462 for Associate dentists.

Average gross earnings for Principal dentists were £311,227, compared to £103,595 for Associate dentists.

The Expenses to Earnings Ratio (EER) for Principal dentists was 61.1%, compared to 36.2% for Associate dentists. The EER for all dentists was 53.4%. The EER is the proportion of gross earnings taken up by expenses.

(BMcC/KMcA)

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