<p>No specific estimate has been made, as the Department does not centrally hold data on the status of applications made to join the General Dental Council’s (GDC) register. This data is held by the GDC themselves as the relevant independent regulator.</p><p>The Professional Standards Authority for Health and Social Care (PSA) is responsible for overseeing the work of the healthcare professional regulators. As part of this oversight role, the PSA carries out annual reviews of the regulators’ performance which includes registration processing times. The PSA’s most recent review of the GDC is available at the following link:</p><p><a href="https://www.professionalstandards.org.uk/publications/performance-review-detail/periodic-review-gdc-2021-22" target="_blank">https://www.professionalstandards.org.uk/publications/performance-review-detail/periodic-review-gdc-2021-22</a></p>