How many dentists are there in the UK?
Each official figure counts something different, so pick the one that matches what you plan to contact.
| Figure | What it counts | Source | Checked |
|---|---|---|---|
| 49,079 | Dentists registered with the General Dental Council, UK-wide and some overseas addresses (people, not practices). The same report counts 86,562 dental care professionals such as nurses and hygienists | General Dental Council, registration report October 2026 | 11 November 2026 |
| 25,419 | Dentists in England who did any NHS work in 2025/26, including foundation dentists (people, not practices; private-only dentists are not counted) | NHS Business Services Authority, NHS dental statistics England 2025/26 | 11 November 2026 |
| 12,326 | Locations in England listed with the service type “Dentist” in the CQC care directory file dated 4 November 2026, run by 8,927 different providers (our count of the CQC file) | Care Quality Commission, care directory download | 11 November 2026 |
| 16,910 | Workplaces (local units) registered for VAT or PAYE under SIC 86230 | ONS UK Business Counts 2026 | 2026 release |
The GDC and NHS figures count people. One practice can have five or six dentists on the register, plus nurses, hygienists and therapists, so the register is several times bigger than the number of businesses you could write to. Many registered dentists are associates who work in someone else's practice and don't buy anything for it.
The CQC figure is the closest official count of practices, but it covers England only. The ONS figure below counts workplaces registered for VAT or PAYE across the UK. Our records sit in between: each one is a practice address, so a group with many branches appears once per branch, and a single-site practice appears once however many dentists work there.
Rule of thumb: to size a market of dentists as people (for a course, a product used chairside, a recruitment campaign), use the GDC figure. To size a market of businesses that sign contracts, use the CQC or ONS figure.
Can I get a free list of dentists?
Three official sources list dentists or dental practices for free. They differ a lot in what you're allowed to do with them.
CQC care directory (England)
Can be used for marketing, with conditions
A spreadsheet of every service CQC regulates in England, updated about once a week. Filter the service type column to "Dentist" and you get the practice name, address, postcode, phone number, website where known, and the provider that runs it. CQC's own page says the file does not contain email addresses.
“Our data is made available under the Open Government Licence. By using it you are accepting the conditions of this licence. If you use our data, you should also acknowledge on your site or service that you are using CQC information.”
The best free starting point if you only need England and are happy to write to practices by post or call them. The licence lets you reuse the data, including commercially, but the Open Government Licence itself excludes personal data, and PECR and UK GDPR still apply to any marketing you send. There are no Scottish, Welsh or Northern Irish practices and no named decision makers.
GDC online register
Not for marketing
Search by name, town or registration number to check that a dentist or dental care professional is registered. It lists individuals, one search at a time, and says it holds no information on whether someone works in the NHS or private practice.
“The General Dental Council website is maintained for your personal use and viewing.”
Use it to check that a dentist you're dealing with is registered. Don't use it to build a mailing list: the terms say the site is for personal use, and the same page says copying its content is not permitted without prior approval. It also gives you people rather than practices.
NHS Find a dentist
Limited marketing use
A patient search for NHS dentists in England by town or postcode, showing practice contact details and whether they're taking on new NHS patients. Private-only practices are not the focus, and results come a page at a time.
“This means that you can use NHS Website Content, except where specified, including copying it, adapting it, and using it for any purpose, including commercially, provided you follow these terms and conditions and the terms of the OGL.”
Reuse is allowed on conditions: the same terms exclude personal data from the licence and set attribution and refresh rules (section 3.6). Fine for checking a handful of local practices; slow and incomplete as a way to build a list, and England only.
Outside England there is no equivalent free download we could verify. In Wales, Healthcare Inspectorate Wales registers and inspects private dental practices. In Northern Ireland, RQIA lists private dental practices among the independent hospitals it registers. Neither offers a bulk file that we could find.
What's in a list of dentists you can buy?
These are the dentists available from us, and how many records include each kind of contact detail. They're the contacts we hold, not the size of the market: the official figures above are the market.
| Field | Records | Coverage | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Postal addresses | 13,748 | 100% | |
| Phone numbers | 13,748 | 100% | |
| Named contacts (a person, usually with job title) | 11,521 | 84% | |
| General company email addresses (info@, enquiries@ etc.) | 753 | 5% | |
| Named contact email addresses | 2,166 | 16% |
Most records have no named email address. We hold 2,166 named contact emails across 13,748 dental practices, about 16% of records, plus 753 general practice addresses (info@, reception@). If you need to reach most practices, use the postal address, which every record has, or the main phone number. Don't buy a dentist list expecting an email for each practice: no honest source can supply one.
One record is one dental practice at one address. Where a practice belongs to a group, each branch has its own record, so a group with forty sites is forty records. In the CQC file we found 12,326 dental locations run by 8,927 providers, which gives a feel for how much of the market is in multi-site hands.
The named contact on a record is usually the principal dentist or practice owner, sometimes the practice manager. Dental laboratories and technicians are a different category and aren't included unless you ask. You can narrow the list by region, county or postcode area before you buy.
Who makes the buying decisions at dental practices, and how do you reach them?
Who signs off depends on whether the practice is owner-run or part of a group, and on how big the spend is.
| Job title | What they decide | Best way to reach them |
|---|---|---|
| Principal dentist or practice owner | Anything that commits the business: refits, new surgeries, chairs and imaging, finance, software contracts, selling or buying a practice. In a partnership, each partner may need to agree. | A letter addressed to them by name at the practice. Use a named email where your record has one. |
| Practice manager | Running costs and suppliers: consumables, waste, cleaning, IT support, utilities, recruitment and staff training. Often the person who shortlists before the owner decides. | Post marked for their attention, or a named email where held. The practice's main number reaches them most reliably. |
| Group operations or procurement team | For group-owned branches, central contracts for equipment, materials, IT and facilities are often agreed at head office, not in the practice. | Write to head office by role. The branch manager can tell you the right contact. |
| Associate dentist | Their own training, loupes, indemnity and some clinical preferences. Associates are usually self-employed and don't control practice budgets. | Hard to reach as a group through a practice list. Professional events and journals usually work better. |
| Dental nurses, hygienists and therapists | Their own CPD and registration costs, and day-to-day input on clinical products they use. | Not individually listed in most practice records. Reach them through the practice manager. |
A quick way to tell an owner-run practice from a group branch: look at the provider name in the CQC file or the company behind the practice. If the same provider runs dozens of sites, aim at head office for anything bigger than a local purchase.
What are the rules for marketing to dentists?
The rules depend on how each business is set up. Under the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations (PECR), sole traders and ordinary partnerships count as individual subscribers, and limited companies, LLPs and other organisations count as corporate subscribers. Wherever a record names a person, UK GDPR applies as well: you need a lawful basis (usually legitimate interests), you must tell them where you got their details, and you must stop if they object.
How UK dentists are set up, according to the Office for National Statistics (16,910 workplaces, UK Business Counts 2026, SIC 86230):
| Legal form | UK workplaces | Share | How PECR treats them |
|---|---|---|---|
| Limited companies and LLPs | 12,865 | 76% | Corporate subscriber |
| Sole traders | 2,700 | 16% | Individual subscriber |
| Partnerships | 1,240 | 7% | Individual subscriber |
| Charities, clubs and other non-profits | 25 | under 1% | Corporate subscriber |
| Public sector | 75 | under 1% | Corporate subscriber |
| Channel | Sole traders and partnerships (about 23% of this sector, by ONS figures) | Companies, LLPs, charities and public bodies |
|---|---|---|
| Post | Allowed. PECR doesn't cover addressed mail; UK GDPR applies to a named person. | Allowed. UK GDPR applies to a named person. |
| Live sales calls | Allowed unless the number is on the TPS (or they've told you not to call). | Allowed unless the number is on the CTPS (or they've told you not to call). |
| Marketing email and text | Only with their prior consent (or the "soft opt-in" for your own customers). | Allowed without prior consent, if you say who you are and give a simple way to opt out. |
Two dentist-specific points. First, the legal form matters more here than in many sectors: about a quarter of dental workplaces are run by sole traders or partnerships, and a practice name doesn't tell you which. The CQC file's provider name often does (it shows "Limited", a partnership or a person's name), which helps you decide whether marketing email needs prior consent. Second, data taken from the GDC register or the NHS website about a named dentist is personal data. The Open Government Licence does not cover personal data, so a free download of names doesn't come with permission to market to them; UK GDPR applies as it would to any named contact.
How much does a list of dentists cost?
You pay per record, and the price per record falls as the order grows:
| Number of records | Price per 1,000 |
|---|---|
| Fewer than 2,500 | £295 |
| 2,500 to 4,999 | £270 |
| 5,000 to 9,999 | £245 |
| 10,000 to 19,999 | £220 |
| 20,000 to 49,999 | £195 |
| 50,000 or more | £170 |
Other lists of UK businesses
Questions people ask about a list of dentists
Where can I get a list of dentists in the UK with decision-maker email addresses?
No source can give you a decision-maker email for every UK dental practice. The free official sources (CQC, GDC, NHS) don't include email addresses at all. A bought list helps: we hold 2,166 named contact emails for dentists, but that is about 16% of our 13,748 practice records. For the rest, write to the principal dentist or practice manager by name at the practice address, or ring the practice.
Is there a free list of dentists I can use for marketing?
For England, yes, within limits. The CQC care directory is a free download under the Open Government Licence, with practice names, addresses and phone numbers but no emails or named owners. You can reuse it, but PECR and UK GDPR still apply to what you send. The GDC register is for checking registration only: its terms say the website is for personal use. There's no comparable free file for Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland that we could verify.
How many dentists are there in the UK?
It depends what you count. The GDC register had 49,079 dentists in its October 2026 report, and 25,419 dentists in England did NHS work in 2025/26. Those are people. For practices, CQC lists 12,326 dental locations in England, and ONS counts 16,910 dental workplaces across the UK. We hold 13,748 practice records with a postal address.
Can I download the GDC register as a list of dentists?
Not as a bulk file for marketing. The online register is searched one name or town at a time, and the GDC's terms say its website is for personal use and that copying its content is not permitted without prior approval. It also lists people, not practices, so even a full copy wouldn't give you practice addresses to write to.
I need a list of dentists with email addresses for a product launch. What should I expect?
Expect email for a minority of practices. Across our dentist records, about 16% have a named contact email. A launch to dentists usually works better as a letter or pack to the principal or practice manager, with email to the practices where we hold a named address and follow-up calls to the rest.
Is a list of NHS dentists the same as a list of all dentists?
No. NHS Find a dentist and the NHS dental statistics cover dentists doing NHS work in England. Private-only practices aren't counted in the NHS figure. The CQC directory includes private and NHS practices in England, and a bought list covers both across the UK.
Do dental group branches count as separate practices?
In our list, yes: each branch is its own record with its own address and phone number. For buying decisions, many group branches defer to head office, so if you're selling equipment or contracts, decide whether to target the branch, the group, or both.
How much does a list of dentists cost?
Lists are priced per record: £295 per 1,000 for orders under 2,500 records, falling to £170 per 1,000 for 50,000 or more (excluding VAT). With 13,748 dentists available, a UK-wide list falls in the 10,000 to 19,999 band. Ask for a free count for your area and an exact price.