The General Dental Council (GDC) has set the 2008 fee levels for dental professionals, but dental nurses and dental technicians who have not yet registered are being urged to apply now and take advantage of the 2007 application fee.

Nurses and technicians who register before January 2008 will pay the existing fee – £72 – and no more until their first annual retention fee is due, in July 2009. Those who continue to put off registration will not only pay a higher fee but could leave it too late and find themselves working illegally.

To deal with the anticipated last minute surge in applications, the GDC has agreed an increase in the registration fee for all dental care professional groups from 1 January 2008.

The annual retention fee for dental care professionals (which applies to dental hygienists, dental therapists and clinical dental technicians only at the moment) will be £96 (an increase of £24 or 33%).

The Council claims the fee increases are needed to adequately resource its existing core functions, including registering the new groups of dental professionals such as dental nurses and dental technicians, as well as developing new initiatives to strengthen patient protection.

GDC President, Hew Mathewson said, ‘We are committed to using our resources wisely so that our registrants' fees can be kept as low as possible. The fee levels for 2008 reflect the true costs of delivering effective regulation and the job of maintaining high standards within dentistry. The fees for DCPs, including dental hygienists and dental therapists, will in part help us to deal with anticipated last minute applications from potential DCP registrants as we approach the legal cut-off date in July 2008.’