The British Association of Dental Nurses (BADN) has welcomed the very slight reduction by the General Dental Council (GDC) in the Annual Retention Fee (ARF) for dental nurses of £2 per year, for the next three years.

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However, BADN still strongly believes that £114 per year is an excessive amount for dental nurses - many of them earning only minimum wage and often only working part time - particularly in view of the fact that the majority also have to pay for their own indemnity cover, and their CPD costs (which are still not tax-allowable for employees). BADN continues to urge the GDC to lower further the ARF for dental nurses, the lowest paid members of the dental team, instead of banding them with hygienists and therapists, who receive much higher salaries; and to consider a lower rate for all registrants who work part-time.

BADN also urges the GDC, and other dental associations, to lobby HMRC for tax relief on CPD costs for all members of the dental team. The ARF for dentists has also been reduced, from £890 to £680 a year.