Dentists in the England and Wales earned an average of £89,062 last year, with one in every 30 taking home more than a quarter of a million pounds, according to new figures from the NHS Information Centre .
The data reveals 382 of the 19,000-plus dentists in England and Wales earned more than £300,000 before tax in 2007/08, at a time when millions of patients struggled to find a dentist on the NHS .
A further 113 dentists earned between £275,000 and £300,000 before tax, 159 earned £250,000 to £275,000, 228 received between £225,000 and £250,000, and 291 had an income of £200,000 to £225,000.
Meanwhile, a total of 4,418 dentists were in the £100,000 to £200,000 income bracket last year, according to the data.
The figures also show that just under 7,500 dentists who hold a contract with the local primary care trust or local health board to provide NHS dental services in England and Wales had an average gross income of £345,651, with £126,807 (before tax) in fee income and average expenses of £218,843.
Average earnings for the 12,000 dentists working in a practice without an NHS contract was £99,208 before tax and including typical expenses of £33,512.
Since the introduction of the new dental contract in April 2006, dentists’ earnings have been based on each unit of dental activity and course of treatment undertaken.
Tim Straughan, chief executive of the NHS Information Centre, said: "The England and Wales report looks at earnings in the second year of the new contractual system and reveals that the average earnings of NHS dentists varies greatly depending on whether they personally held a contract with their primary care organisation."
Health minister Ann Keen added "NHS dentistry is improving and many dentists are now keen to expand their NHS work. Today's report confirms that NHS dentists have good levels of earnings."
