GOVERNMENT officials are coming under pressure to release the names of dental practices that are earning million-pound incomes in the National Health Service.

Figures released under the Freedom of Information Act by the government’s Dental Practice Board of England and Wales show that 50 practices are being paid close to, or more than, £1m a year. One was paid £2.2m by the taxpayer last year in fees.

The board is refusing to disclose the identities of these practices or even to say how many dentists work in them.

This comes despite a recent decision to publish data on subsidies paid to individual farmers. In addition, the payment of public money to lawyers under legal aid has long been public knowledge as have the salaries of senior public figures.

The dental board claimed this weekend that figures on the NHS earnings of individual dentists was “personal data” and as such was exempt from publication under the act.

The Sunday Times applied twice to the board under the Freedom of Information Act to release the data. As this resulted in only partial publication, the paper has this weekend appealed to Richard Thomas, the information commissioner, to rule on whether the board should release full data.

Simon Williams, chairman of the Patients Association, said the public was entitled to know which dentists had earned most from the taxpayer. “These figures should be published,” he said.

Dentists are pressing the government to increase payments from the health service. They claim that increasing numbers of practitioners are restricting themselves to private practice as it has become too difficult to earn a living working for the NHS, although these claims have not been independently audited.

The refusal by the dental board to release information comes as the government considers rises in charges that could lead to fees for a basic check-up rising from £5.50 to £12, while those for fillings could go up from £18 to £40.

The British Dental Association said: “The fees dentists receive for NHS treatment do not solely cover their salary. From that figure they must also cover practice expenses including their premises, equipment, staff salaries and training.

“They do not receive the same allowances as other professions like GPs to cover practice expenses and this should be borne in mind.”

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