Dental manpower: many questions, weak data and inadequate answers.

The 1980s saw much discussion about manpower needs in many spheres of British life, including dentistry. There have been several manpower reviews since then, culminating in the closure of two UK undergraduate dental schools in the past decade. However, since then the number of vacancies in general dental practice appears to have doubled and there has been increasing difficulty obtaining dental associates. There appear therefore to be some manpower problems in general practice. Some of the available manpower data to the end of 1995 are examined and possible factors underlying these trends are considered, raising more questions than answers but suggesting the time has come to seriously review the situation.