Dental Specialty Training Pay 2026/27: What ST1 to ST5 Earn

Last updated: 7 November 2026 · Figures verified against the NHS Employers 2026/27 pay circular.

By the NHS Bands Pay editorial team

What is dental specialty training?

Dental specialty training is the route to specialist registration with the General Dental Council, the step that turns a dentist into a recognised specialist in one field of dentistry. Trainees apply for a specialty training post after dental core training, usually after completing two or three years of DCT, and the training itself runs for three to five years depending on the specialty. The recognised dental specialties include orthodontics, oral surgery, endodontics, periodontics, prosthodontics and paediatric dentistry, alongside restorative dentistry, special care dentistry, oral medicine, oral microbiology, oral and maxillofacial pathology, dental and maxillofacial radiology, and dental public health. A trainee applies for one specialty and trains in it throughout, working in hospital dental services, dental schools and community services.

The training matters because it is the only route to specialist registration, and specialist registration is what opens the consultant and specialist posts that sit at the top of the employed-dentist ladder. A dentist without specialty training can work in general practice, salaried primary care or community dentistry, but cannot be appointed as a consultant in a hospital dental service. That is why dental specialty training is fiercely competitive, and why the pay figures on this page matter to applicants who are weighing a training post against a salaried post or a return to general practice. Our NHS dentist salary guide sets out all four employed routes side by side, from foundation dentistry through to consultant.

One fact shapes everything else on this page. Dentists are outside Agenda for Change. Dental pay is recommended by the Review Body on Doctors' and Dentists' Remuneration, the DDRB, which also covers doctors, and dental specialty trainees are paid on the 2016 contract nodal scale, the same scale that sets pay for resident doctors in England. Sharing the scale means dental specialty trainees and their medical counterparts at equivalent nodal points are on identical basic pay, and it also means the pay rules that apply to resident doctors, the 40-hour basic week, the additional-hours rates and the pension tiers, apply to dental specialty trainees in the same way. Most high-street NHS dentists are self-employed contractors paid under the units of dental activity system, not salaried staff, and this page covers employed dentists in training only.

Dental specialty training pay 2026/27

The table below gives the basic salary for each year of dental specialty training in England in 2026/27, with the monthly gross pay and the plain and premium hourly rates alongside each one. The nodal point column shows where each year sits on the 2016 contract scale: ST1 at nodal point 4a, ST2 at nodal point 4b, ST3 at nodal point 4c, ST4 at nodal point 5a, and ST5 at nodal point 5b. The June 2026 nodal-point reform split the old nodal points 3, 4 and 5 into sub-points, so there are now ten nodal points where there were five, and the sub-points are what the table quotes. ST6, ST7 and ST8, for the few specialties that run that long, also pay £77,348.

Two features of the scale stand out. First, ST1 and DCT3 pay exactly the same basic salary of £67,325, because both sit at nodal point 4a, and ST2 and ST3 also share a salary, £67,998, at nodal points 4b and 4c. Progression in basic pay under the 2016 contract happens at specific nodal points rather than every year, so the first uplift inside specialty training comes on moving to ST4 at £76,582, a jump of £8,584 a year, or £715.33 a month, from ST3. Second, these are basic salaries only. Like resident doctors, dental specialty trainees may receive additional payments for unsocial hours, on-call commitments or other allowances depending on their rota, which is why two trainees at the same year can take home different amounts. The hourly rates in the table are worked out as the basic salary divided by 40, the contracted basic week, and then divided by 52.143, and the premium rate is the plain rate multiplied by 1.37.

The figures are for England, and they are set through the DDRB award of 3.5% for 2026/27, announced on 25 March 2026 and effective from 1 April 2026, plus the effect of the June 2026 nodal-point reform. The award applies to dentists in training on the 2016 contract in the same way it applies to resident doctors, because both groups share the nodal scale. The 2026/27 pay rise guide sets out the award in full, and the doctor pay scales hub compares every medical scale from FY1 to consultant in one place.

Why ST1 pays the same as DCT3

The flat step from DCT3 into ST1 catches out almost every trainee who expects a pay rise on entering specialty training. A DCT3 trainee earns £67,325 a year, and an ST1 trainee earns £67,325 a year, the same figure to the pound. The reason is simple: the 2016 contract pays by nodal point, not by the name of the training programme, and both years sit at nodal point 4a. Moving from one programme to another does not move you to a new nodal point, so basic pay does not move either. The same pattern runs through the scale: CT1 and CT2 both pay £55,355 at nodal points 3a and 3b, and ST2 and ST3 both pay £67,998 at nodal points 4b and 4c.

Dental specialty training starts at a higher nodal point than medical specialty training, which starts at nodal point 3a and pays £55,355. The difference reflects the training already completed: a dental specialty trainee has done a foundation year plus dental core training before starting, while a medical specialty trainee can start straight after foundation. That head start is already priced into the scale, which is why the dental ST scale tops out at the same £77,348 as the medical ST scale, at nodal points 5b and 5c. Our dental core training pay guide sets out the DCT years in full, including the same nodal points from the other side, and our FY1 and FY2 doctor salary guide sets out the bottom of the shared scale.

The flat step is worth knowing before accepting a post, because it changes the comparison with the alternatives. A DCT3 trainee moving into a salaried Band A post at its entry point of £54,502 would take a pay cut of £12,823 a year, while a trainee moving to the top of Band A, £84,781, would gain £17,456 a year, so the salaried route overtakes specialty training pay only part-way up Band A. Against general practice, where pay is based on units of dental activity rather than a salary, there is no direct comparison to make, and the figures on this page do not cover it. The choice between specialty training, salaried posts and general practice is a career decision first and a pay decision second, but the pay figures are worth having before it is made, because the routes diverge sharply from this point on.

Hourly rates and additional hours

The hourly rate is the figure that turns an annual salary into something a trainee can compare with a locum shift or a part-time post. In 2026/27 an ST1 trainee on £67,325 earns £32.28 an hour at plain time and £44.22 an hour at the 37% premium rate, an ST2 or ST3 trainee on £67,998 earns £32.60 an hour plain and £44.66 an hour premium, an ST4 trainee on £76,582 earns £36.72 an hour plain and £50.30 an hour premium, and an ST5 trainee on £77,348 earns £37.08 an hour plain and £50.81 an hour premium. Averaged over a 48-hour week, the ST1 rate is £26.90 an hour and the ST5 rate is £30.90 an hour, which is the figure to use when comparing dental specialty training pay with jobs quoted on a 48-hour week. Our junior doctor hourly pay guide sets out the same rates for the medical side of the scale.

Hours above the 40-hour basic week are additional rostered hours, and they follow the same 2016-contract rules as resident doctors. Hours in waking hours are paid at plain time, which is the basic hourly rate with nothing added. Hours between 9pm and 7am, and hours on a Sunday, are paid at plain time plus a 37% premium, which is the basic hourly rate multiplied by 1.37. There is no time-and-a-half rate anywhere in the 2016 contract for additional rostered hours, and no double-time rate either, which catches out trainees who assume the Agenda for Change overtime rules apply to them. The resident doctor additional hours guide works through the same rates with examples for every nodal point, and the unsocial hours and overtime guide sets out the Agenda for Change rules, which do not apply to dentists.

Two more payments can appear on a dental specialty trainee's payslip, and both are separate from the hourly rates above. The contract provides a weekend allowance, additional pay for doctors and dentists who work one in two weekends or more frequently, which is a frequency allowance rather than an hourly rate, so no hourly figure for it appears in the table. There is also an on-call availability allowance, payment for periods spent on-call whether or not you are called in. The exact terms for both are set out in the national terms and conditions and the annual pay circular, and your trust's payroll applies them according to your rota. When you compare ST posts, ask for the rota's pay profile, not just the basic salary: the number of additional rostered hours, and how many of them fall in the premium window, is what turns the basic salary into the total pay for the post.

Worked examples: what the pay means in practice

Annual salaries are abstract until they are turned into pounds for a real rota. The examples below use 2026/27 England rates, and each one uses the rounded hourly rates from the table above, so every total can be checked by multiplying the table figures.

Example 1: ST1, 8 additional hours in a week. Plain hourly rate £32.28, premium rate £44.22. Eight additional hours in waking hours are worth 8 multiplied by £32.28, which is £258.24 for the week. The same eight hours at night, between 9pm and 7am, are worth 8 multiplied by £44.22, which is £353.76, a difference of £95.52 for the same eight hours. If those 8 extra hours were worked every week of the year in waking hours, they would be worth 20% of the £67,325 basic, which is £13,465.00 a year, or £1,122.08 a month. If they were all night hours, they would be worth £18,447.05 a year, or £1,537.25 a month.

Example 2: ST4, one extra 12-hour shift, 9pm to 9am. Plain hourly rate £36.72, premium rate £50.30. Ten hours fall inside the 9pm to 7am premium window and 2 hours, from 7am to 9am, fall outside it, so the shift is worth 10 multiplied by £50.30, which is £503.00, plus 2 multiplied by £36.72, which is £73.44, a total of £576.44. The same 12 hours in plain time would be worth 12 multiplied by £36.72, which is £440.64, so the premium adds £135.80 to the shift. A 12-hour additional shift that runs entirely inside the premium window, such as 9pm to 9am on a Sunday, would be worth 12 multiplied by £50.30, which is £603.60. The 7am finish is the detail to watch: the two plain hours at the end of a 9pm to 9am shift cost £27.16 against the all-premium figure.

Example 3: ST5, 4 additional night hours every week. Premium hourly rate £50.81. Four additional night hours a week are worth 4 multiplied by £50.81, which is £203.24 a week. Over a year that is 10% of the £77,348 basic multiplied by 1.37, which is £10,596.68 a year, or £883.06 a month, on top of the basic monthly pay of £6,445.67. The same four hours in waking hours would be worth £148.32 a week, £7,734.80 a year, or £644.57 a month. A permanently heavy rota with regular additional night hours is worth several thousand pounds a year even at ST5, which is why the rota's pay profile matters as much as the nodal point when comparing posts.

Example 4: ST2, a week of 48 hours. Basic pay for a 40-hour week is £1,304.07, worked out as £67,998 divided by 52.143. A 48-hour week, 40 basic hours plus 8 waking additional hours, is worth £1,304.07 plus £260.80, a total of £1,564.87 for the week. If the 8 additional hours were all at night, the week would be worth £1,304.07 plus £357.28, a total of £1,661.35. The same maths at ST5 gives a 40-hour week of £1,483.38, a 48-hour week with waking additional hours of £1,780.02, and a 48-hour week with night additional hours of £1,889.86.

Pension, student loan and take-home pay

Dental specialty trainees are members of the NHS Pension Scheme, and contributions are tiered by pensionable pay. In 2026/27 an ST1 trainee on £67,325 pays 10.7% of pensionable pay, which is £7,203.78 a year or £600.31 a month, because the next tier, 12.5%, starts at £67,669. An ST2 or ST3 trainee on £67,998 pays 12.5%, which is £8,499.75 a year or £708.31 a month, and an ST5 trainee on £77,348 also pays 12.5%, which is £9,668.50 a year or £805.71 a month. The employer contributes 23.7% on top, which is £15,956.03 a year for an ST1 trainee and £18,331.48 a year for an ST5 trainee. Additional-hours pay is pensionable too, so a heavy rota raises both the contribution and the pension built up. The pension contributions guide sets out the tiers in full, and the pension calculator will project a pension from any salary.

Student loan deductions follow the same pattern as for any graduate. On Plan 2, with a 2026/27 threshold of £29,385, an ST1 trainee pays 9% of the £37,940 above the threshold, which is £3,414.60 a year or £284.55 a month, an ST2 trainee pays 9% of the £38,613 above the threshold, which is £3,475.17 a year or £289.60 a month, and an ST5 trainee pays 9% of the £47,963 above the threshold, which is £4,316.67 a year or £359.72 a month. The deduction is taken through payroll, so it appears on the payslip alongside tax and National Insurance, and it stops automatically when income falls below the threshold. The student loan repayments guide sets out every plan and threshold, and the student loan calculator will work out the deduction for any salary.

The table below shows what a dental specialty trainee keeps each month, worked out for England and Wales tax, Category A National Insurance, the pension tier for that salary and, in the final column, a Plan 2 student loan. Pension contributions are deducted before income tax is calculated, National Insurance is calculated on gross pay, and the student loan is calculated on gross pay above the £29,385 threshold. An ST1 trainee on £67,325 pays £956.71 a month in income tax and £279.76 a month in National Insurance, and keeps £3,773.64 a month before any student loan, or £3,489.09 a month with a Plan 2 loan. An ST4 trainee on £76,582 pays £1,186.31 a month in income tax and £295.19 a month in National Insurance, and keeps £4,102.61 a month before any student loan, or £3,748.63 a month with a Plan 2 loan. An ST5 trainee on £77,348 keeps £4,134.85 a month before any student loan, or £3,775.12 a month with a Plan 2 loan. The exact amount on a payslip may differ by a few pence because payroll systems round each component separately, and other deductions, such as a postgraduate loan or a salary-sacrifice scheme, change the result. The junior doctor take-home pay guide breaks down the same calculation month by month for medical trainees at the same nodal points, and the figures match, because the same salary on the same contract produces the same take-home pay.

A small tax point is worth knowing. Dentists are not named in HMRC's flat-rate expenses list, so the default rate of £60 a year applies to a uniformed dentist, worth £12 a year at basic rate and £24 a year at higher rate. Dental nurses, by contrast, are named in the list at £125 a year, worth £25 at basic rate and £50 at higher rate. No receipts are needed for the flat-rate claim, and it can be backdated up to four tax years. Our uniform tax rebate guide sets out the full list of flat rates and how to claim.

The pension-tier quirk: ST2 keeps less than ST1

The take-home table above holds a surprise that is worth spelling out, because it looks like a mistake until the pension tiers are checked. An ST2 trainee earns £67,998 a year, which is £673 a year more than an ST1 trainee on £67,325, yet the ST2 trainee keeps £3,741.37 a month, which is £32.27 a month less than the ST1 trainee's £3,773.64. Gross pay rises and take-home pay falls, in the same step. The cause is the pension tier boundary at £67,669. An ST1 trainee on £67,325 sits in the 10.7% tier and pays £600.31 a month into the pension, while an ST2 trainee on £67,998 sits in the 12.5% tier and pays £708.31 a month, an extra £108.00 a month in pension contributions against a gross pay rise of £56.08 a month. Income tax falls by £20.77 a month, because pension contributions are deducted before tax is calculated, and National Insurance rises by £1.12 a month, but the pension rise outweighs both, leaving take-home pay £32.27 a month lower.

This is not a loss. The extra £108.00 a month goes into the NHS Pension Scheme, where it buys pension, and the employer contributes 23.7% on top of the higher salary too, so the ST2 trainee builds a larger pension than the ST1 trainee. The same tier boundary produces the same effect for medical trainees at nodal point 4b, and for anyone whose salary crosses a pension tier boundary, in dentistry or elsewhere in the NHS. It is worth knowing before the payslip arrives, because a trainee who expects a small rise on moving from ST1 to ST2 and sees a smaller monthly figure instead will otherwise assume payroll has made an error. The pension contributions guide sets out every tier and threshold, and the pension calculator will show the same effect for any salary near a boundary.

What comes after specialty training

Completing dental specialty training leads to specialist registration with the General Dental Council, in fields such as orthodontics, oral surgery, endodontics, periodontics, prosthodontics and paediatric dentistry. Specialists work as consultants in hospital dental services or as specialists in community and salaried primary-care services, and the pay jump at that point is large: consultant dentists are paid on the consultant scale, which starts at £113,565 in England in 2026/27, which is £36,217 a year above the ST5 salary of £77,348, and our NHS consultant salary guide sets out the consultant thresholds, from £113,565 at entry to £150,569 at the top. Our consultant take-home pay guide works out what those consultant salaries mean each month after tax, National Insurance and pension.

Some specialists move into salaried primary-care or community posts instead, where Band C runs from £101,434 to £116,573 in 2026/27, which is £24,086 a year above the ST5 salary at its entry point and £39,225 a year above it at the top. Band B runs from £84,781 to £99,163, which is £7,433 a year above ST5 at its entry point and £21,815 a year above it at the top. Others work in private practice or a mix of NHS and private work, where pay is not set by a national scale and is not covered by the figures on this page. Most high-street NHS dentists work as self-employed contractors or associates, paid under the units of dental activity system, and the employed routes described on this page are the minority of the profession. The choice between a consultant post, a salaried post and private work is a career decision first and a pay decision second, but the pay figures are worth having before it is made, because the routes diverge sharply from this point on.

How ST pay changed from 2025/26

The 2026/27 figures are higher than 2025/26 by the DDRB award of 3.5%, announced on 25 March 2026 and effective from 1 April 2026, plus the effect of the June 2026 nodal-point reform. An ST1 trainee earned £65,048 in 2025/26, at the old nodal point 4, and earns £67,325 in 2026/27, a rise of £2,277 a year, or 3.50%. An ST2 or ST3 trainee also earned £65,048 in 2025/26 and earns £67,998 in 2026/27, a rise of £2,950 a year, or 4.54%. An ST4 trainee earned £73,992 in 2025/26 and earns £76,582 in 2026/27, a rise of £2,590 a year, or 3.50%, and an ST5 trainee also earned £73,992 and earns £77,348, a rise of £3,356 a year, or 4.54%. The ST2, ST3 and ST5 rises are larger than the award alone, because the June 2026 reform revalued the upper sub-points of nodal points 4 and 5 as well as splitting them, while the ST1 and ST4 rises match the 3.5% award exactly. The 2026/27 pay rise guide sets out the award and the reform together.

In hourly terms, an ST1 trainee earned £31.19 for a plain additional hour in 2025/26, at the old basic of £65,048, and £42.73 for a premium hour, against £32.28 and £44.22 in 2026/27. An ST5 trainee earned £35.48 plain and £48.60 premium in 2025/26, against £37.08 and £50.81 in 2026/27. The June 2026 deal also included exam and royal-college membership fees reimbursed from April 2026, enhanced appraisal for locally employed doctors from October 2026, and clinical-academic flexible pay premia rising from £5,600 to £10,000 from April 2027, which sit alongside the pay award rather than inside it.

ST against medical specialty training

Dental and medical specialty trainees are paid identically at the same nodal point, because they sit on the same scale, but they start at different points. A medical specialty trainee starts at nodal point 3a, £55,355, while a dental specialty trainee starts at nodal point 4a, £67,325, a difference of £11,970 a year at the start of specialty training. The difference reflects the training already completed: a dental specialty trainee has done a foundation year plus dental core training before starting, while a medical specialty trainee can start straight after foundation. At the top of the scale the two paths converge: medical ST7 and ST8 and dental ST5 to ST8 all earn £77,348. GP registrars sit on the same scale as well: GPST1 and GPST2 earn £55,355 and GPST3 earns £67,325, before any supplement. The GP registrar salary guide sets out the GP training picture, including the supplement that sits on top of the nodal basic.

Trust-grade doctors, also called locally employed doctors, are employed on locally determined pay with mirrored nodal points from MT01 at £41,226 to MT10 at £77,348, and the June 2026 deal offered all of them 2016-contract terms, so the same hourly rates apply to the mirrored points. Our trust-grade doctor salary guide sets out the full MT01 to MT10 table, and our FY1 and FY2 doctor salary guide sets out the bottom of the shared scale. The doctor pay scales hub compares every medical scale from FY1 to consultant in one place, and the dental figures on this page slot into that hub at nodal points 4a to 5b.

Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland

The figures on this page are for England under the 2016 contract, and they should not be assumed to apply elsewhere. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have their own arrangements for resident doctor and dentist pay, and the verified data file this site works from holds the England nodal scale only, so no devolved ST figures are quoted here. The June 2026 deal was an England deal, and the DDRB award of 3.5% for 2026/27 applies to England, with the devolved nations making their own awards. The nation guides are NHS Scotland pay, NHS Wales pay and NHS Northern Ireland pay, and staff in the devolved nations should check the local pay circular for the exact figures rather than budgeting on the England rates.

Frequently asked questions

What does dental specialty training pay in 2026/27?

In England in 2026/27, dental specialty training pays £67,325 a year in year 1 (ST1), £67,998 a year in year 2 (ST2) and year 3 (ST3), £76,582 a year in year 4 (ST4), and £77,348 a year in year 5 (ST5) and beyond. That works out at £5,610.42 a month in ST1, £5,666.50 a month in ST2 and ST3, £6,381.83 a month in ST4, and £6,445.67 a month in ST5, before tax, National Insurance, pension and student loan deductions. The figures are basic pay on the 2016 contract nodal scale, the same scale used for resident doctors, and they apply to the 40-hour basic week. Additional payments for unsocial hours or on-call work sit on top of basic pay, so two trainees at the same year can take home different amounts.

Why does ST1 pay the same as DCT3?

Dental specialty training starts at nodal point 4a, which pays £67,325, and dental core training year 3, DCT3, also sits at nodal point 4a, so the two years carry the same basic salary. The scale pays by nodal point, not by the name of the training programme, and moving from DCT3 into ST1 does not move you to a new nodal point. The rise comes later: ST2 sits at nodal point 4b and pays £67,998, ST4 sits at nodal point 5a and pays £76,582, and ST5 sits at nodal point 5b and pays £77,348. Dental specialty training starts at a higher nodal point than medical specialty training, which starts at nodal point 3a and pays £55,355, because dental specialty trainees have already completed foundation and dental core training by the time they start.

Why do ST2 and ST3 pay the same?

ST2 sits at nodal point 4b and ST3 sits at nodal point 4c, and both points carry the same 2026/27 basic salary of £67,998. Progression in basic pay under the 2016 contract happens at specific nodal points rather than every year, and neighbouring sub-points can share a salary, exactly as CT1 and CT2 both pay £55,355 at nodal points 3a and 3b. The June 2026 nodal-point reform split the old nodal points 3, 4 and 5 into sub-points, which is why the scale now has ten points, but it did not change the fact that neighbouring sub-points can share a salary. The next rise comes on moving to ST4 at nodal point 5a, which pays £76,582, a jump of £8,584 a year.

What is the hourly rate for a dental specialty trainee?

The hourly rate is the annual basic salary divided by 40, the contracted basic week, and then divided by 52.143. In 2026/27 an ST1 trainee on £67,325 earns £32.28 an hour at plain time and £44.22 an hour at the 37% premium rate. An ST2 or ST3 trainee on £67,998 earns £32.60 an hour plain and £44.66 an hour premium. An ST4 trainee on £76,582 earns £36.72 an hour plain and £50.30 an hour premium, and an ST5 trainee on £77,348 earns £37.08 an hour plain and £50.81 an hour premium. Averaged over a 48-hour week, the ST1 rate is £26.90 an hour and the ST5 rate is £30.90 an hour. Hours above the 40-hour basic week are paid at plain time in waking hours and at plain time plus 37% for hours between 9pm and 7am or on Sundays, exactly as for resident doctors on the same contract.

Do dental specialty trainees get unsocial-hours pay?

Yes. Dental specialty trainees are on the 2016 contract, so additional rostered hours above the 40-hour basic week are paid at plain time in waking hours and at plain time plus a 37% premium for hours between 9pm and 7am or on Sundays. At ST1 that is £32.28 an hour plain and £44.22 an hour premium, and at ST5 it is £37.08 plain and £50.81 premium. The contract also provides a weekend allowance for doctors and dentists who work one in two weekends or more frequently, which is a frequency allowance rather than an hourly rate, and an on-call availability allowance for periods spent on-call. How much unsocial-hours pay a trainee actually receives depends on the rota: a post with regular night and Sunday shifts pays materially more than a post with the same basic salary and a daytime-only rota. Our resident doctor additional hours guide works through the same rates with examples for every nodal point.

What pension do dental specialty trainees pay?

Dental specialty trainees are members of the NHS Pension Scheme, and contributions are tiered by pensionable pay. In 2026/27 an ST1 trainee on £67,325 pays 10.7% of pensionable pay, which is £7,203.78 a year or £600.31 a month, because the next tier, 12.5%, starts at £67,669. An ST2 or ST3 trainee on £67,998 pays 12.5%, which is £8,499.75 a year or £708.31 a month, and an ST5 trainee on £77,348 also pays 12.5%, which is £9,668.50 a year or £805.71 a month. The employer contributes 23.7% on top, which is £15,956.03 a year for an ST1 trainee and £18,331.48 a year for an ST5 trainee. Additional-hours pay is pensionable too, so a heavy rota raises both the contribution and the pension built up. The pension contributions guide sets out the tiers in full, and the pension calculator will project a pension from any salary.

What happens after dental specialty training?

Completing dental specialty training leads to specialist registration with the General Dental Council, in fields such as orthodontics, oral surgery, endodontics, periodontics, prosthodontics and paediatric dentistry. Specialists work as consultants in hospital dental services or as specialists in community and salaried primary-care services. Consultant dentists are paid on the consultant scale, which starts at £113,565 in England in 2026/27, well above the ST5 salary of £77,348, and our NHS consultant salary guide sets out the consultant thresholds. Some specialists move into salaried primary-care or community posts, where Band C runs from £101,434 to £116,573 in 2026/27, also above the ST5 salary. Others work in private practice or a mix of NHS and private work, where pay is not set by a national scale and is not covered by the figures on this page.

Is dental specialty training outside Agenda for Change?

Yes. Dentists are outside Agenda for Change, and so are doctors. Dental pay is recommended by the Review Body on Doctors' and Dentists' Remuneration, the DDRB, which recommended the 3.5% award for 2026/27, announced on 25 March 2026 and effective from 1 April 2026. Dental specialty trainees are paid on the 2016 contract nodal scale, not on AfC bands, which is why this page quotes nodal points rather than bands. The dental team around them is paid differently: dental nurses, dental therapists, dental hygienists and dental technicians working in the NHS are employed on Agenda for Change bands. Our NHS dental nurse salary guide covers the AfC side of that picture, and our Agenda for Change explained page sets out the band system itself.

Sources and independence

Source: NHS Employers, 2026/27 pay award announcement.

Source: NHSBSA, Foundation dentist salary 2026/27.

NHS Bands Pay is an independent guide and is not affiliated with the NHS. Figures were verified against official sources on 7 November 2026 and can change, always confirm with the relevant official body before making financial decisions.