You asked
I note that you already provide the number of dental practices in the UK as of 2017 at https://www.ons.gov.uk/aboutus/transparencyandgovernance/freedomofinformationfoi/numberofdentistsanddentalpracticesintheuk
I would like to know whether this number is increasing or decreasing over time.
Please could you therefore provide the number of dental practices in the UK over a five year period—specifically, I need to know the number of dental practices in the UK for 2018, 2017,2016, 2015 and 2014.
We said
Thank you for your request. We produce an annual publication called UK Business: Activity, size and location. The source of the publication is the Inter Departmental Business Register (IDBR.) This is a register containing all businesses registered for VAT and/or PAYE. The data in the publication are broken down by Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) 2007.
The data are published on NOMIS. This is a dissemination tool which allows you to filter the data by geography, SIC, legal status etc. The SIC code for dental practice activities is 86230. If you use the link to NOMIS, please choose the Query data option and then UK Business Counts. You can choose either of the enterprise options and then filter the data to the required years. If you have any problems finding the data, please contact our data service team at idbrdas@ons.gov.uk who will be happy to help you.