Numbers published in June by the Dental Schools Council indicate a concerning decline in the number of clinical academics on the Research & Scholarship pathway. Numbers are now at an all-time low of 344 full-time equivalents (FTE) across the UK's 18 publicly funded dental schools. This raises concerns about difficulties in recruitment to these posts and the lack of research experience for trainees coming through the clinical academic pathway.

This is in a context of four new dental schools and expanding student numbers. Many schools have responded creatively to this through an increase in the number of appointments to Teaching & Scholarship roles. In 2015, these roles number 239 FTE, some 60% higher than five years ago and now making up 41% of all clinical academics.

Other key findings of the survey are:

  • The majority of funding for dental clinical academic posts is from the four Higher Education Funding Councils (74%).

  • Nearly one third of clinical academic dentists are specialists in restorative dentistry (28%)

  • Half of the clinical academic workforce is aged under 46

  • Women make up 41% of the clinical academic workforce. There are more women lecturers than men (57%) for the first time, although women remain under represented at Professorial grade (20%).

The survey can be accessed at: www.dentalschoolscouncil.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/DSC-survey-2016.