c. 33) established a register for qualified dentists in order to combat an increase in unregistered practice by dental companies.
As a result, the General Dental Council (GDC) was established to make dentistry a self-governing profession.
[5] The 1955 Dentists Bill[6] prohibited DBCs from dentistry unless they were open and practising on 21 July 1955, as well as registered with the GDC.
When the bill received royal assent on 15 March 1956,[7] there were 74 DBCs listed.
DBCs have since expanded to the extent that in 2015, they held over 40% of NHS contracts in England worth over £1.3 billion.