The BDA Benevolent Fund supports dental students, dentists and their families living in the UK.

Who can use this form?

This form is for current or former dentists who are experiencing financial hardship.

To use this form, you must:

• currently live in the UK; and

• be currently registered, or have previously been registered, as a dentist with the General Dental Council (GDC).

The BDA Benevolent Fund is independent of the British Dental Association (BDA). You do not need to be a BDA member to apply.

Financial hardship

Financial assistance is intended for people experiencing financial hardship who cannot reasonably meet their essential living costs themselves. Before applying, you should use any income, benefits or savings available to you. We will consider your overall financial circumstances, including your income, essential living costs, savings and other accessible funds.

If you have more than £10,000 available to you, we will not normally consider your application. This does not include money set aside to meet a confirmed tax liability.

Before you begin

As part of your application, you will need to provide evidence of your GDC registration and financial circumstances. This will normally include:

• evidence of your current or previous registration as a dentist with the GDC;

• evidence of your income and any benefits you receive;

• PDF statements covering the last three months for every bank, savings and investment account you hold;

• PDF statements covering the last three months for every credit card you hold

If you are married or living with a partner, we will also need statements and details of income and savings for your partner.

Statements must be the original PDF documents downloaded from your provider. We cannot accept screenshots, photographs or edited documents. If an account has no recent statements, please ask the provider for a formal letter confirming the current balance. Do not combine or merge your documents.

If you do not provide all the information and documents requested, we may be unable to assess your application.

Wellbeing support

Wellbeing support is available free of charge, anonymously and at any time. You do not need to complete an application form.

Visit our wellbeing webpage or access the Wellbeing Support for the Dental Team resource.

If you have any questions, please contact us:

• Email: info@bdabenevolentfund.org.uk

• Telephone: 020 7486 4994

• Office hours: Monday to Friday, 9.30 am to 5.30 pm, excluding public holidays

Bank statements and financial evidence

To consider your application, we need statements covering the three months immediately before the date of your application for:

• every bank and building society account you hold, including current, savings and joint accounts;
• all credit cards;
• savings and investments; and
• any accounts you hold but do not regularly use, including accounts with a zero or overdrawn balance.

If you are married or live with a partner, you must also provide statements covering the same three-month period for all accounts held by your spouse or partner, including their bank accounts, credit cards, savings and investments.

Please provide complete statements showing the account holder’s name, account details, all transactions and balances. Do not submit selected pages or transaction screenshots.

We use these statements to verify the financial information in your application and assess your household’s financial circumstances. We cannot assess your application until all the required statements have been provided.