Methods: A self-completing 20-item postal questionnaire was sent to all the general dental practices in the North West Region of England. The questionnaire consisted of three sections; covering dental nurses, dental hygienists and dental therapists. It was pre-tested and modified by members of the Greater Manchester Dental Network. Each questionnaire was identifiable by a unique code. The questionnaire was sent out in November 2003. All non-respondents were sent a reminder questionnaire two months later. The data obtained was computerised and analysed using descriptive statistics.
Results: A total of 467 practices (73%) responded to this survey. Total number of full-time dental nurses working in these practices was 819, with an additional 548 working part-time. Out of these dental nurses, 966 (71%) have met the General Dental Council registration criteria. For those who were not qualified, 311 were willing to undertake training in order to be registered. There were 18 full-time and 221 part-time dental hygienists working in these practices. An additional 2 full-time and 15 part-time dental therapists were also employed. There was a shortage of 58 dental nurses and 52 dental hygienists in the responding practices. Forty-five practices intended to recruit a dental therapist in the future.
Conclusions: Over 300 dental nurses required further training in order to be registered under the new General Dental Council regulations. The employment of dental hygienists by the general dental practices was normally on a part-time basis, whilst very few practices made use of the service of a dental therapist. The local Primary Care Trusts therefore need to work closely with health education providers to ensure that these dental nurses who require training are fully equipped in due course.