A fully qualified dentist is currently ‘struggling to make ends meet’ working in a Birmingham restaurant, despite a ‘severe’ shortage of dentists in the UK. Ahmad Umar, from Afghanistan, ran his own dental practice in Kabul for five years before moving to Edgbaston earlier this year.

Mr Umar came to the UK hoping to further his dental career but was ‘shocked’ to discover he would have to pay around £5,000 to sit the Overseas Registration Exam, which would allow him to work in the UK. Ahmad, who currently works at Amoodi restaurant in Balsall Heath, said it was his ‘dream’ to become a dentist in the UK but was heartbroken at the high fees he could not afford.

There is currently a recruitment crisis in dentistry, with 1,100 fewer dentists working in 2024 than before the pandemic, the lowest number since 2012. Mr Umar has set up a GoFundMe page to raise money to sit the exams and fulfil his ambition of working as a dentist in the UK.

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Ahmad Umar arrived in the UK four months ago on a spouse visa from Afghanistan, having studied dentistry in his home country for six years and worked in his own dental practice for five years.

When he arrived in the UK, he was shocked by the high cost of becoming a registered dentist. “I’ve been to every dentist in the area looking for work but they won’t take me on because I don’t have the right qualifications,” he told BirminghamLive.

“My dream is to become a dentist here in the UK, that was my main goal when I came to the UK but I don’t have enough money to pay the exam fees. I have faced many challenges since I came here. I am so disappointed but I won’t give up because this is my dream.”

Before the election, the Conservative government considered plans to allow overseas dentists to work without sitting an exam to address the “severe” shortage of NHS dentists. The proposal, which was subject to a three-month consultation, was announced in February.

Currently, foreign dentists must pass an exam before they can work in the UK. New plans could see the General Dental Council (GDC) given powers to provisionally register them without a test.