Overview
Our aim is to deliver local education and training to support the primary care workforce – and help them to deliver high quality care. We are keen to include the dental workforce and provide the support we will need for the next 10 years.
NHS 10 Year Plan
The Plan aims to create a contract that matches resources to need, improves access, promotes prevention and rewards dentists fairly, while enabling the whole dental team to work to the top of their capability.
To meet these goals dental teams will need to be upskilled and better integrated into the wider NHS.
NHS 10 Year Plan: NHS England » Fit for the Future: 10 Year Health Plan for England
Recruitment of Dental Team Members
Since April 2025 Primary Care Careers have been able to provide free support to NHS dental providers in the SNEE ICB area.
Their services include:
- Adverts: We craft compelling job adverts.
- Recruitment support: We assist throughout the hiring process.
- Attraction strategy: We use our networks and social media to attract talent.
This team has helped fill 10 dental posts so far. If you would like extra support for your dental team recruitment, please contact: https://www.eoeprimarycarecareers.nhs.uk/dentistry/
Dental Foundation Training & Dental Therapy Foundation Training
Another way of expanding your team is to sign up for Foundation Training.
Foundation Training is the first step in postgraduate training for newly qualified dentists and therapists. It lasts for 12 months when taken full time and includes hands-on clinical experience and study days.
Supporting a Foundation Dentist or Therapist can be a great way of developing your own team and growing your workforce. For the 12-month training period you will have a new clinician, and in some cases, they may wish to join your team in the longer term.
You can find more information here: https://heeoe.hee.nhs.uk/node/135
If you need to develop your practice and team before you could take on this role the Training Hub or ICB may be able to help. However, please note that the next round of applications to be involved start in November 2025 – so if you are interested, don’t hang around!
Please contact: [email protected]
Agreement Terms Dentists
All NHS dentists need to be on the National Performers List (NPL). UK dentists completing Dental Foundation Training are automatically added to the List.
Colleagues joining us from outside the UK gain access via another route. This was known in the past as PLVE or Terms of Agreement (TOA). Across the country the term Agreement Terms Dentists (ATD) is now being used for clarity.
If you have an ATD in your team, please encourage them to seek support from the team at the Training Hub. There is a specific Educational Support Programme (ESP) that has been created for ATDs that we can help with.
There is also a Peer Review Group available. Please contact: [email protected] for further information about the educational support available.
Professional Support Networks
NHS England runs professional support groups for several members of the dental team. By searching for “dental” on the Training Hub Calendar – you can find groups to support:
- Agreement Terms Dentists
- Dental Hygienists & Therapists
- Practice Managers
- Dental Nurses