DENTISTS in Bradford and Airedale are poised to rebel against their own regulator to preserve access to NHS dental services and fight a hike in professional fees.

The General Dental Council (GDC) plans to raise compulsory membership fees by 64 per cent - a move opposed by 98 per cent of dentists in England and Wales.

While the jump in annual subscription is only from £576 to £945, Shipley dentist Alyn Morgan, the secretary of Bradford and Airedale local dental committee, said many practices were feeling the pain of a sustained decline in income.

"Annual pay of non-partner dentists has dropped by some £20,000 since 2006 and the average pay is now £64,000," said Mr Morgan, citing the huge rise in NHS GPs' wages to an average of £100,000, often further boosted by private work.

"In 20 years I've never seen so much anger in the profession," said Mr Morgan, who has been at Avondale Dental Practice since 1996.

"We are not as well remunerated as people think and have to pay for our buildings, staff and materials - none of which GPs have to do."

The GDC said a sharp increase in complaints against dentists has caused its costs to rocket.

But Mr Morgan said the only reason complaints had risen was because the GDC now dealt with all complaints, including ones previously handled at a local level.

The GDC has been regulating the dental profession since 1956.

Many local dentists argue that the root of the problem is that it is no longer led by a dentist, but by an appointed regulator.

A spokesman for the alliance of local dental committees said the current GDC had lost the confidence of the profession it regulated, which would be debated at a national conference in December.

The British Dental Association is also opposing the rise in fees.

A spokesman for the GDC said it was required by Parliament to charge an Annual Retention Fee which had not been raised for four years and was tax deductible.

"The GDC must use the fee income to fund all of the activities it must deliver such as maintaining a register, Investigating complaints and taking action against those dental professionals who are not considered fit to practise or are working illegally.

"Since 2010, when the GDC last increased the ARF, there has been a 110 per cent increase in the number of complaints.

"As a result, the GDC needs additional funds to investigate these complaints and where necessary to bring Fitness to Practise cases."