A roadmap for reversing the decline in dental researchers

The Dental Schools Council’s oral and dental health clinical researcher task and finish group has released a roadmap for addressing the “shrinking and ageing” dental clinical academic workforce.

The report is the third in a series commissioned by the Office for Strategic Coordination of Health Research exploring how to rebuild the UK’s health research workforce – its two predecessors looked at the pipeline of medically-qualified researchers and that of nursing, midwifery and allied health professionals.

The roadmap sets out an intention to restore “at least 75 full-time equivalent research-active academic posts over the next five years.” It observes that the number of dental clinical academics fell from 435 FTE posts in 2005 to 360 in 2025, and that there are now more than twice as many clinical academics aged over 55 as those aged under 36. The Academy of Medical Sciences raised similar concerns across the whole clinical academic workforce in a recent report.

There are two groups which continue to be particularly underrepresented in the dental research workforce: primary care dentists, and dental care professionals such as hygienists, nurses, and therapists. The roadmap plans action on pathways for both new and resumed careers, strengthened leadership and mentorship, and improved terms and conditions – including “consistent pay parity across the dental clinical academic workforce and general dental workforce.”