Associates working for dental corporates feel they have less control and autonomy at work, are less satisfied with their jobs and have lower morale compared to non-corporate associates, according to new research1 published in this edition of the BDJ.

Researchers from the BDA compared associates in corporate and non-corporate practices to gauge differences at work, examine professional working in each type of employment, and develop an understanding of dental corporates and their impact on UK dentistry.

In 2015, the corporate dentistry sector in England was estimated to consist of more than 200 dental groups with nearly 2,000 practices and there are a number of larger corporates in the UK with ten holding more than 20 high street practices.

There is little published evidence so far of the effect of dental corporates on dentistry in England though previous work has indicated differences between associate populations.

The researchers used data from a survey of BDA members originally used from self-report questionnaires for the BDA to generate evidence for the Doctors and Dentists Review Board (DDRB) review process.

Participants were asked about demographics, perceived decision-making abilities, motivation, career progression, job satisfaction and morale.

The resulting data covered both the NHS and private sectors and data from the 2016 and 2017 surveys were analysed for associates working in England exclusively in either a corporate or non-corporate environment.

Corporate respondents included those working at Bhandal, Centre for Dentistry, Genix, IDH, Bupa/Oasis, Perfect Smile, Portman, Southern Dental and Rodericks.

From the total 565 responses, the researchers found that in both 2016 and 2017, female associates were less likely to work in corporate practice than non-corporate practice while in 2017, associates in the non-corporate sector were significantly more likely to have a UK qualification than those in the corporate sector.

Associates in the corporate sector were significantly more likely to have a UDA target than their counterparts in the non-corporate sector, according to the 2016 data.

In 2017, the majority of associates in both sectors earned between £50,000 and £74,999, but profit for 2017 corporate associates was significantly higher than that of non-corporate associates.

When asked about their working environment, the majority of associates in both sectors, in 2016 and 2017, agreed that they got support from their colleagues though corporate associates were significantly less likely to agree. Agreement that their practice was well managed was significantly higher in those working in non-corporate practices in 2016 and 2017.

Overall, most associates in both sectors agreed that they were able to provide patient care to a standard they were satisfied with.

In terms of satisfaction and morale, corporate associates were significantly less likely to report high morale than their non-corporate counterparts and job satisfaction fell significantly between 2016 and 2017 in both sectors.

Opinions of professionals over decision making and autonomy also showed variation between the sectors.

Corporate associates were less likely to agree that they were involved in decision making that affected their work or that they had clinical freedom.

The authors said: 'Data indicates that some factors including UDA value are similar between corporate and non-corporate associates but there appears to be a clear divide for aspects such as job satisfaction, morale, job security, decision making and control.

'Non-corporate associates in our study reported a significantly greater level of autonomy and a greater ability to make workplace, and clinical, decisions than those in the corporate sector.

They concluded: 'The competitive corporate dental market is still young and a true picture cannot be seen until the market matures. While this study illustrates that there are differences between the sectors it is evident that further work is needed to build a more definite picture of corporate dentistry and the influence it has on the profession.'