GDC: enhanced CPD and fitness to practise for the dental team

The GDC's Standards for the Dental Team set out nine principles that every registrant must follow. Among other things, they cover putting patients' interests first, communicating effectively, obtaining valid consent, protecting patients' information, having a clear complaints procedure, working with colleagues in patients' interests, maintaining and developing your knowledge and skills, raising concerns, and making sure your personal behaviour maintains patients' confidence in you and the profession.

Our dental professionalism course works through the principles that most often come up in complaints and fitness to practise cases: complaints (principle 5), teamwork and raising concerns (principles 6 and 8), knowledge, skills and enhanced CPD (principle 7), and personal behaviour, social media and declarations (principle 9).

The GDC has been reviewing how its standards and guidance work. Check the GDC website for the version that applies on the date you read this. We record any change on this page when it takes effect.

The GDC's enhanced CPD scheme runs in five-year cycles. Minimum verifiable hours per cycle:

If you hold more than one title, the higher requirement applies. Three more rules apply to everyone:

• Two-year minimum: at least 10 hours of verifiable CPD in any two consecutive years, including across the end of one cycle and the start of the next.
• Personal development plan: plan your CPD in a PDP and link each activity to at least one development outcome.
• Annual statement: make a CPD statement at every annual renewal, even if you completed no CPD that year. In that case you record zero hours.

The four development outcomes:

• A: effective communication with patients, the dental team and others across dentistry, including obtaining consent, dealing with complaints and raising concerns.
• B: effective management of yourself and of others, or effective work with others in the dental team.
• C: maintaining and developing your knowledge and skills within your field of practice.
• D: maintaining the skills, behaviours and attitudes that keep patients' confidence in you and the dental professions.

Evidence. The GDC asks you to keep a certificate, a mapping document or an email from the provider as evidence of verifiable CPD. It also expects providers to state which development outcomes the activity meets. Keep your certificate with your PDP and check that the outcomes you log match the course content.

All courses are self-paced, take about 2 hours according to their course files, and end with 15 scenario-based questions (pass mark 80%) and a guided reflective account.

Professionalism and Professional Standards for Dentists and Dental Professionals

Professionalism across the whole dental team, including scope of practice. It covers the principles of Standards for the Dental Team listed above, indemnity, practice governance and inspection, medical emergencies and safeguarding, boundaries, social media, online reviews and marketing. It ends with learning from significant events as a team and steps for remediation.

Ethics and Ethical Standards for Dentists and Dental Professionals

Ethical principles applied to dentistry. It covers the ethics of cosmetic and elective treatment; candour and record-keeping; fees, costs and financial integrity; consent for children and for adults who may lack capacity; advertising and professional titles; raising concerns and working within scope; and how the GDC responds to breaches.

Module on Insight

Insight explained for practice and for regulatory processes, including how decision makers assess it.

Reflection for Healthcare Professionals

Reflective models, sample reflections and anonymisation. Useful for your PDP notes and for any statement you write in a case.

Remediation for Healthcare Professionals

Root causes, remediation plans, the evidence that matters and sustaining change.

A certificate counts towards your enhanced CPD. In a fitness to practise case it is only one piece of evidence. Case examiners and committees look for:

• learning that matches the specific concern;
• reflection in your own words on the impact on patients and the team;
• changes in practice you can show, such as audits, revised consent forms, complaint logs or supervisor reports;
• testimonials from colleagues who know about the concern;
• a plan for keeping things on track.

The remediation pathway organises these in order. Your dental defence organisation or a solicitor should review the bundle before it goes to the GDC.

Healthcare Practise UK is an independent education provider. We are not affiliated with, approved or endorsed by the GMC, NMC, HCPC, GDC, GPhC, GOC, GOsC, GCC, Social Work England, MPTS or the PSA. Completing our courses or tools does not decide any regulatory outcome. Regulators decide each case on its own facts, so please take advice from your defence organisation, union or a solicitor before you submit anything to a regulator.