The General Dental Council (GDC) has successfully processed 36,962 annual retention fee (ARF) payments from its dentist registrants.

The deadline to pay the fee for 2011 was 31 December 2010. Nearly 5,000 of those who paid used the GDC's eGDC website.

Eight hundred and eighty-six dentists were removed from the register for not paying their ARF; so far 171 applications for restoration to the register have been received and 514 dentists voluntarily requested that their names be removed.

Dentists who want to return to the register must complete a form; have a medical examination; provide a character reference; and pay £696 (to include the ARF).

If they were practising overseas while off the register they must provide a letter of good standing from the relevant authority of that country. If they were working in the UK when their name was removed from the register they must provide a letter from their employer to explain the circumstances. If the latter is the case, those dentists are advised to contact their solicitor or defence organisation before submitting their application.