Dental nurses: salary in the UK
About £22,904 a year after tax (England, Wales and Northern Ireland, 2026/27)
median salary a year, full-time, +4.3% on last year
£2,244 a month About £1,909 a month after tax 30 thousand full-time jobs
Gross pay before tax, including bonuses, commission and overtime. Not included: benefits in kind such as a company car. About the data
Pay range
The dark part is the middle half of full-time employees (25% to 75%); the light bar runs from 10% to 90%. ONS doesn't publish the highest or lowest salary, and x means a figure wasn't published.
Pay by year
The median went from £18,579 in 2021 to £26,923 in 2026 (+45%); for all full-time employees in the UK it changed by +31% over the same years.
Figures by year
| P10 | P25 | Median | P75 | P90 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | x | x | £18,579 | x | x |
| 2022 | x | x | £19,830 | x | x |
| 2023 | £16,064 | £18,837 | £21,791 | £25,389 | x |
| 2024 | x | £20,773 | £23,841 | £28,269 | x |
| 2025 | £19,120 | £23,220 | £25,805 | £28,965 | x |
| 2026 | £18,886 | £23,273 | £26,923 | £30,624 | x |
ONS figures for each year, not adjusted for inflation. Years before 2021 used a different occupation classification, so they can't be compared. Earlier years are ONS's revised figures; the latest is provisional.
Half of full-time employees in this occupation earn less than £26,923 a year and half earn more. That is 34% less than the median for all full-time employees in the UK (£40,911).
The middle half earn between £23,273 and £30,624; one in ten earns less than £18,886.
Ranked by median, it is number 339 of the 362 occupations with a published figure.
At the median salary, take-home pay after Income Tax and National Insurance is about £1,909 a month in England, Wales or Northern Ireland and £1,912 in Scotland.
Percentiles
| Percentile | Annual | Monthly |
|---|---|---|
| 10th (P10) | £18,886 | £1,574 |
| 20th | £21,863 | £1,822 |
| 25th (P25) | £23,273 | £1,939 |
| 30th | £24,145 | £2,012 |
| 40th | £25,627 | £2,136 |
| Median (50th) | £26,923 | £2,244 |
| 60th | £28,006 | £2,334 |
| 70th | £29,393 | £2,449 |
| 75th (P75) | £30,624 | £2,552 |
| 80th | £31,166 | £2,597 |
| 90th (P90) | x | x |
Men and women
| Median | Mean | Jobs (thousands) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Men | x | £27,955 | x |
| Women | £26,872 | £26,632 | 29 |
Take-home pay at the median
| Where you live | Per year | Per month |
|---|---|---|
| England, Wales, NI | £22,904 | £1,909 |
| Scotland | £22,944 | £1,912 |
After Income Tax and National Insurance for 2026 to 2027, with the standard tax code and no pension or student loan. Work out your own take-home pay · Take-home pay on £27,000
Job titles in this occupation
ONS codes these 11 job titles to SOC 6133 Dental nurses. Pay figures are for the whole occupation, not for each title.
- Dental assistant
- Dental attendant
- Dental auxiliary
- Dental nurse
- Dental nurse-receptionist
- Dental receptionist-nurse
- Dental surgeon's assistant
- Dental surgery assistant
- Dental surgery nurse
- Nurse
- Orthodontic chairside assistant
Similar occupations
All jobs in Caring, leisure and other service occupations
Source: ONS, Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings 2026 provisional, Table 14.7a (full-time employees, gross annual pay, UK, tax year ending 5 April 2026). Provisional figures may be revised.