Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

UK dentistry: a timeline of events 1920-2020 - Part 1: 1920-1946

  • General
  • Published:
British Dental Journal Submit manuscript

Abstract

This is the first of a three-part series detailing significant developments in the delivery of dentistry in the UK between 1920-2020, covering the period following the establishment of the British Dental Association as a 'professional' organisation with a paid secretary and offices to the end of the Second World War.

Key points

  • The Dentists Act 1921 restricted practice to qualified and registered dentists, established a Dental Board as a sub-committee of the General Medical Council with responsibility for maintenance of the Register, and introduced restrictions on the number and structure of corporate bodies.

  • There was increasing pressure to make dentistry a statutory rather than an additional benefit under the National Insurance scheme administered by approved societies but the precarious nature of the economy with high levels of unemployment and unexpected claims for sickness and disability benefit from women made this impossible.

  • Big gaps remained in the availability of health care, with no coordination and wide variation in quality, which led to the commissioning of a report from William Beveridge recommending a comprehensive health service, to include dental care, and laying the foundations of the NHS.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Gelbier S. Secretaries and chief executives of the British Dental Association (1879-2020) - part 1: the early years. Br Dent J 2021; 230: 46-49.

  2. Office for National Statistics. All-items Retail Price Index. (1947-2020).

  3. Feinstein C H. National Income, Expenditure and Output of the United Kingdom 1855-1965. Tables 24 & 25 (1920-1947). Cambridge. Cambridge University Press. 1972.

  4. Atkins L C. Public Dental Service. Br Dent J 1924; 45: 928-933.

  5. Dental Treatment of members of Approved Societies Br Dent J 1924; 45: 516-517.

  6. His Majesty's Stationery Office. Dentists Act 1921. 1921.

  7. Industrial Dental Service Organised and a Great Experiment. Br Dent J 1922; 43: 68-69.

  8. The Medical and Dentists Register1923. Br Dent J 1923; 44: 357.

  9. A Triple Review. Br Dent J 1923; 44: 270-274.

  10. Modified Scale of Fees. Br Dent J 1923; 44: 349-351.

  11. UK Parliament. Hansard Written Answers, 14 April 1927, vol 205. 1927.

  12. His Majesty's Stationery Office. Report of the Royal Commission on National Health Insurance. 1926.

  13. Scale of Fees and Conditions of Service. Br Dent J 1926; 47: 976-979.

  14. Appointment of Regional Dental Officers. Br Dent J 1927; 48: 180.

  15. Note on RDOs. Br Dent J 1926; 47: 1329-1330.

  16. Mouatt R B, Wittington D R. The Dental Reference Service: Past, Present, and Future. Br Dent J 1987; 162: 225-227.

  17. Certain Approved Societies and Dental Benefit. Br Dent J 1927; 48: 912.

  18. UK Government. National Health Insurance: Report by the Government Actuary on the Second Valuation of the Assets and Liabilities of Approved Societies. Cmd 2785.1927.

  19. UK Parliament. Hansard Written Answers, 6 November 1930, vol 244 c1081W. 1930.

  20. The Dental Benefit Regulations. Br Dent J 1930; 51: 739-742.

  21. Approved Societies and Dental Benefit. Br Dent J 1931; 52: 1273.

  22. UK Government. Thirteenth Annual Report of the Ministry of Health. Cmd 4113. 1932.

  23. UK Government. Report of the Government Actuary on the Third Valuation of the Assets and Liabilities of Approved Societies. Cmd 3978. 1931.

  24. Dental Benefit Funds. Br Dent J 1932; 53: 800-801.

  25. Extension of the School Dental Service. Br Dent J 1935; 59: 339.

  26. Dental Treatment. Br Dent J 1934; 58: 585.

  27. Heeggaard Warner R G. The New Scale of Fees. Br Dent J 1936; 60: 39-40.

  28. Proposed New Scale of Fees. Br Dent J 1935; 59: 406-407.

  29. UK Government. Report of the Government Actuary on the Fourth Valuation of the Assets and Liabilities of Approved Societies. Cmd 5496. 1937.

  30. Fourth Valuation of Approved Societies. Br Dent J 1937; 63: 241-242.

  31. Dental Benefit Council. Br Dent J 1938; 64: 627.

  32. UK Government. Hansard, Written Answers, 13 May 1938, vol 335. 1938.

  33. The Scale of Fees. Br Dent J 1938; 65: 175-176.

  34. National Health Insurance Figures. Br Dent J 1939; 67: 509.

  35. The RDO Service. Br Dent J 1939; 67: 402.

  36. The Calling up of Dentists. Br Dent J 1940; 69: 329.

  37. The Scale of Fees. Br Dent J 1940; 69: 365-366.

  38. The Scale of Fees. Br Dent J 1941; 71: 218-219.

  39. Increase in the Dental Benefit Scale of Fees. Br Dent J 1941; 71: 226-227.

  40. The Dentists Register. Br Dent J 1942; 72: 167-168.

  41. Gelbier S. 125 years of developments in dentistry, 1880-2005. Part 5: Dental education, training and qualifications. Br Dent J 2005; 199: 685-688.

  42. UK Government. Hansard, Written Answers 17 March 1942, vol 378, cc1346-7W. 1942.

  43. UK Government. Social Insurance and Allied Services (Beveridge Report). Cmd 6404. 1942.

  44. The Scale of Fees. Br Dent J 1943; 75: 16-17.

  45. Scale of Fees. Br Dent J 1943; 75: 23.

  46. The Scale of Fees. Br Dent J 1943; 75: 289-290.

  47. The Scale of Fees. Br Dent J 1944; 76: 14-15.

  48. Draft Scale of Fees. Br Dent J 1944; 76: 23-25.

  49. His Majesty's Stationery Office. A National Health Service. Cmd 6502. 1944.

  50. His Majesty's Stationery Office. Education Act 1944. 1944.

  51. His Majesty's Stationery Office. Interim Report of the Interdepartmental Committee on Dentistry (Teviot Report). Cmd 6565. 1944.

Download references

Acknowledgements

Credit to the BDA Trust Fund for commissioning and funding the project, conceived by Peter Ward, and the BDA Library and its staff, without whom this piece of work would simply not have been possible.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. West Molesey, Surrey, United Kingdom

    Stephen Tidman

Authors
  1. Stephen Tidman
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Stephen Tidman.

Ethics declarations

The author declares no conflicts of interest.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Tidman, S. UK dentistry: a timeline of events 1920-2020 - Part 1: 1920-1946. Br Dent J 235, 273–277 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41415-023-6180-3

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41415-023-6180-3

  • Springer Nature Limited

This article is cited by

Search

Navigation