Income at a low for Northern Ireland dentists

The earnings of dentists in Northern Ireland have been hammered over the last three years, new figures have revealed.
The Health & Social Care Information Centre conducted a survey from 1 April 2011 to 30 March 2012 and compared its findings with a previous survey taken in 2010/2011. The report found that the median income from the health service and private dentistry fell by nearly 8% -to £60,000, down from £65,100.
The figures were released last month.
Dr Peter Crooks, chair of the British Dental Association’s Northern Ireland Dental Practice Committee, said: ‘Today’s figures provide further evidence of the growing financial challenge that has confronted dentistry in Northern Ireland in recent years. Falling incomes reduce practices’ ability to invest in the equipment and premises they need to provide patient care.
‘Sadly, this fall is not a one-off. Incomes fell in the two years before the period covered in this report, and will almost certainly have fallen in the year after it.