The General Dental Council (GDC) has published its ‘Annual Report and Accounts for 2023’, highlighting a year focused on public protection.

Stresses in the dental sector have continued, as research published by the GDC highlighted difficulties for patients in accessing dental care, particularly NHS dental services.

Discussions about the dental workforce have continued to be a priority and the GDC has said it remains committed to collecting workforce pattern data to help to inform discussions.

Supported by stakeholders, the GDC invited dentists to voluntarily provide working pattern data as part of the annual renewal process. The responses helped to provide a greater understanding of where dentists were working, the nature of their work, and how many hours they worked in NHS or private practice. These insights help support future workforce resource planning.

Other key developments in 2023

  • The ‘Registration and Fitness to Practise’ functions at the GDC were brought together to form a new regulation directorate. This improved efficiency and provided more flexibility and career development opportunities for staff.
  • The GDC processed a record 11,476 applications, surpassing the previous high of 8,979 in 2015. In addition, processing times improved across most registration routes. However, there remains a backlog of overseas dentist applications for dental hygienist or therapist registration which will continue to be a focus throughout 2024.
  • An increase in the number of caseworkers in late 2022 helped to speed up its fitness to practise processes, leading to a 31 per cent reduction in the overall caseload by the end of 2023, in comparison to 2022.
  • Legislative changes that have allowed the GDC to consult on and make new rules on its international registration processes.
  • The development of an engagement programme of webinars targeted at overseas-qualified dental professionals new to UK practice, helping them understand the implications of working in a regulated profession.

In a joint statement, Toby Harris and Tom Whiting, GDC’s chair and chief executive, said, “As we look forward to the rest of 2024, we are confident in our ‘Costed Corporate Plan’ and that it will help us play our part in working with the whole dental sector to support the continuing recovery of dentistry.

“This includes legislative change around how we register overseas dental professionals. We also remain committed to improving our regulatory activities where we can in the absence of legislative reform, while always ensuring that the public are protected.

They added, “The GDC sets the framework for professional regulation and ensuring patient safety. But it is dental professionals themselves who deliver safe and effective care to their patients and whose professionalism we support. We are deeply appreciative of all that they do.”

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