Professionalism and Professional Standards for Dentists and Dental Professionals

This dental professionalism course looks at how a dental team earns and keeps patients' trust: how complaints are handled, how colleagues work together, how concerns are raised, how skills are kept current and how people behave outside the surgery and online. It is grounded in the GDC's Standards for the Dental Team, with extra depth on principles 5 to 9, the parts of the Standards that most often decide whether a practice runs well or ends up in front of a regulator.

The course takes about 2 hours, including a scored assessment and a written reflection. It uses team-based case illustrations: a practice dealing with rising complaints about staff attitude at reception, a laboratory crown returned in the wrong shade because the prescription was unclear, a dental nurse who refuses a locum's instruction to reuse a single-use instrument, a hygienist who answers a critical online review with clinical details.

Healthcare Practise UK is an independent provider. This course is not affiliated with or endorsed by any regulator, and completing it does not change any regulatory decision. Regulators and panels decide cases; your course record is one piece of evidence among many.

Every registrant is individually accountable to the GDC, even when working under instruction. The course is written with that in mind, so it speaks to each role in the team rather than to dentists alone.

• Dentists, including associates, foundation dentists and practice principals.
• Dental nurses, hygienists, therapists, dental technicians, clinical dental technicians and orthodontic therapists.
• Practice owners and managers responsible for complaints procedures, governance and staff CPD.
• Registrants with a concern about teamwork, complaints, scope, indemnity, CPD declarations or social media.

For consent, fees, cosmetic requests and the four ethical principles, see the companion dental ethics course.

The course has five teaching modules, a conclusion, a references page and a final reflective account. This is the outline as it appears in the course:

1. An Overview of Professionalism for Dental Professionals: Defining Professionalism; Why Professionalism Matters; The GDC's Role in Ensuring Professional Standards; The Dental Team and Scope of Practice.
2. Core Principles of Professionalism: Patient-Centred Care; Integrity and Honesty; Accountability and Responsibility; Confidentiality and Respect for Privacy; Effective Communication; Respect and Dignity; Teamwork and Collaboration; Reflective Practice; Wellbeing and Fitness to Practise.
3. The GDC's 'Standards for the Dental Team': An Overview of the 'Standards for the Dental Team'; Principle 5: Handling Complaints Professionally; Principles 6 and 8: Teamwork and Raising Concerns; Principle 7: Knowledge, Skills and Enhanced CPD; Principle 9: Personal Behaviour, Social Media and Declarations; Indemnity, Practice Governance and Inspection; Medical Emergencies and Safeguarding in the Dental Team.
4. Professional Boundaries and Ethical Conduct: Understanding Boundaries; GDC Guidance on Boundaries; Social Media, Online Reviews and Marketing.
5. Breach of Professional Standards, Its Consequences, and Remediation: Understanding Breaches; Consequences of Breaching Standards; Regulatory Actions; Steps for Remediation; Learning from Significant Events as a Team.
6. Conclusion and Takeaways.
7. Reflection.

The aim is practical: you should finish knowing what your Scope of practice allows, including direct access; what the GDC expects of a complaints procedure; when and how to escalate a concern beyond the practice; what enhanced CPD and indemnity require of you; and how to plan remediation that addresses the specific standard that was breached.

Module 3 is built directly on the GDC's Standards for the Dental Team and their nine principles, with lessons on:

• Principle 5, a clear and effective complaints procedure, including the Dental Complaints Service for private care.
• Principles 6 and 8, working with colleagues in patients' interests and raising concerns, including the protection of the Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998.
• Principle 7, working within your knowledge and skills, with the enhanced CPD scheme.
• Principle 9, personal behaviour, social media and declarations to the GDC.

The enhanced CPD figures in the course match the GDC's scheme: over a five-year cycle, 100 hours for dentists, 75 for hygienists, therapists, clinical dental technicians and orthodontic therapists, and 50 for dental nurses and dental technicians, with at least 10 hours in any two consecutive years, a personal development plan and an annual CPD statement. The course describes itself as supporting development outcomes B (management of self and others) and D (behaviours that maintain patient confidence). You decide how it fits your PDP. The GDC regulator page sets out the scheme in one place.

The course also notes the GDC's 2026 consultation on a Framework for Professionalism. The current Standards continue to apply until any replacement takes effect.

Module 5 explains how breaches arise, what case examiners and Practice Committees can do, and how NHS bodies, the CQC and employers may act at the same time. Its remediation lesson includes learning from significant events as a team. Practice changes such as a weekly emergency equipment checklist are often stronger evidence than a certificate.

The course is a learning step, not a fix. The GDC's own research on remediation support in dentistry is a reminder that what counts is targeted, sustained change. A sensible sequence:

• Identify the principle your concern relates to and complete the matching module.
• Write a reflective account that names the concern, its effect on patients and colleagues, and what you have changed. The reflective statement builder keeps it structured and in your own words.
• Collect evidence of the change: a revised complaints log, a team meeting record, an audit, corrected marketing material or a supervisor's report.
• Add the insight course if you need to show you understand why it happened, not just what the rules say.
• Review everything with your indemnity provider or legal representative before you submit it.

Each module ends with key points, a worked example and an "apply it" task. The final assessment has 15 scenario-based multiple-choice questions and the pass mark is 12 out of 15 (80%). If you score lower, the course points you back to the sections behind the questions you missed and you can try again. After you pass, you write a short reflective account against three prompts. The reflection is stored on your own device only and is not sent to us, so keep a copy with your certificate. The certificate of completion is issued in the name Healthcare Practise UK and records the course title and date. The course itself says it plainly: passing supports your learning record; it does not by itself demonstrate insight or remediation.

The reflection prompts at the end ask what you learned about professionalism in the dental team, which part of your practice you will improve (complaints, CPD, scope or teamwork, for example) and how you will evidence the change in your PDP.

Pair this course with Ethics and Ethical Standards for Dentists and Dental Professionals for a complete picture of the GDC's expectations. For a formal conduct concern, the Conduct and Trust Pack brings together Rebuilding Trust, Professionalism for Healthcare Professionals, Fitness to Practise, How to Deal with a Complaint or Investigation, and the insight, reflection and remediation modules.

Use Which course do I need? if you are unsure, or see the full course list.