Top dentists extracting £119,000 in NHS pay

SENIOR dentists in Scotland are earning an average of almost £119,000 a year.

The statistics, published yesterday for the first time, revealed that principal dentists - those who own or are partners in a dental practice - earned an average 118,700 in 2008-9 excluding expenses.

The average earnings for associate dentists, who work for principal dentists, stood at 67,100, according to figures from the NHS Information Centre.

The figures come after The Scotsman last week revealed that over 40 dentists in Scotland were earning more than 250,000 from the NHS alone, including expenses.

The latest figures, which are based on tax information, include NHS and private income, and also cover how much dentists receive in expenses, such as for the cost of equipment and materials covered by the NHS.

Principal dentists reported average expenses of 225,200 on top of taxable earnings, while associate dentists had 33,400.

Opposition politicians said the large sums being spent on dentistry in Scotland meant that people should not be having problems getting NHS care.

Liberal Democrat health spokesman Ross Finnie said: "At this level of pay, there is no reason why NHS dentists cannot provide services right across Scotland. "It's vital that everyone in the country has access to an NHS dentist."

Scottish Labour health spokeswoman Jackie Baillie said: "I think we need to look at dentists - along with other senior salaries - to see what can be done to ensure that scarce resources go towards sustaining jobs on the front-line and improving standards of patient care."

Public health minister Shona Robison said: "We are committed to improving access to NHS dental services for those who wish to use them."